At Lockley Farm, the home of Lokkelebery Vineyard, we firmly believe in the relationship between food and our environment. Without farmers taking care of our landscapes, our countryside and the life that enjoys it would look very different. Food production is part of this story; as farmers like us grow for the nation, we also ensure that nature can live seamlessly alongside, by planting hedges, creating protective headlands and planting crops to benefit populations.

Over the past year, we have been taking stock of who our neighbours really are; that is, our feathery and furry neighbours! With the help of the Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency, we have been undertaking a number of surveys and works to baseline our natural ecosystem. In the case of this article, the subject is farmland birds.

As some readers will know, the farm has lately been part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive with the goal to encourage bird populations and soil rejuvination. Surveys taken across 2025 have shown some fantastic results, namely that the farm started with 3 red-listed species and now hosts 6 (at the time of survey). Additionally, in the space of a year, the number of individual birds spotted doubled, with 8 new species being sited, including Yellowhammer and Stock Dove.

These are really encouraging results for us, and we hope that populations will continue to grow. The addition of feeders for birds during the ‘Hungry Gap’ will hopefully allow our new feathery neighbours to flourish as we enter the Spring.