Farming · Conservation · SFI 2026
Farming for the Thrush
How the Sustainable Farming Incentive can help restore the
hedgerows, soils and field margins on which song thrushes and
mistle thrushes depend.
The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) provides
a number of practical ways for farmers to improve habitat for
conservation-priority birds, including the
song thrush and mistle thrush.
Both species have experienced substantial historical declines
across British farmland. Changes in hedgerow management,
agricultural drainage and the availability of earthworms,
snails and other invertebrates have all influenced the quality
of the farmed landscape for thrushes.
For farms such as Throstle Nest, this creates an interesting
opportunity: measures intended to improve soils, field margins
and hedgerows can also help restore the very habitats that gave
the farm its name.
Healthy hedges, living soils and rough field edges do more
than improve the appearance of the countryside. Together,
they create the feeding and nesting habitat on which
farmland birds depend.
Soil & cultivation
More life beneath the surface
Research into regenerative and conservation agriculture
increasingly demonstrates how changes in cultivation can affect
farmland bird communities.
Farmers Weekly
has reported on farmer-led trials examining the effect of
cultivation systems on birds, including work associated with
the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Reduced cultivation, minimum tillage and direct-drilling can
help preserve soil structure and biological activity. Where
earthworm populations and other soil invertebrates increase,
ground-feeding birds such as thrushes gain a more reliable
source of food.
This is particularly important during the breeding season,
when adult birds must repeatedly find soft-bodied prey for
their young.
What thrushes need
Cover to nest.
Ground on which to feed.
Thrushes benefit from dense nesting habitat together with
damp, biologically active ground containing earthworms,
beetles, snails and other invertebrates.
SFI 2026
Farming actions that can help
Under the evolving SFI 2026 framework, several
complementary management actions can contribute to better
thrush habitat across the farm.
01
Hedgerow management
Song thrushes can begin nesting very early in the year
and dense hedges provide valuable nesting cover.
Hedgerows also provide berries and other food through
autumn and winter.
Rotational cutting and allowing sections of hedge to
develop more fully can create a thicker, more varied
structure while maintaining a continuing supply of
fruit and cover.
02
Grassy field corners and blocks
Areas of longer, tussocky grass can protect damp soil
and create habitat for beetles, snails, worms and
other invertebrates.
These less intensively managed areas provide useful
feeding ground alongside the more productive parts
of the farm.
03
Multi-species cover and low-input grassland
Diverse plant cover and lower-input grassland
management can improve soil structure, organic matter
and biological activity.
A richer soil ecosystem ultimately supports the
invertebrates upon which thrushes and many other
farmland birds depend.
04
Buffer strips and wider field margins
Uncultivated margins provide a transition between
productive farmland, hedges, woodland and watercourses.
For thrushes, these areas can provide relatively
undisturbed ground for feeding while also increasing
the diversity of plants and insects across the farm.
At Throstle Nest
Farming with the landscape
The attraction of these measures is that bird conservation
does not need to sit separately from the working farm.
Better hedgerows, healthier soils, rougher margins and greater
botanical diversity can all contribute to a more resilient
agricultural landscape.
If those changes also bring more song thrushes and mistle
thrushes back into the fields and woods around Throstle Nest,
they will be a particularly appropriate measure of success.
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