For the fifth year running, Norfolk has topped the table of responses to a national survey which reveals our most abundant farmland birds.

The 2023 Big Farmland Bird Count, organised by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), aims to highlight the conservation work done by thousands of land managers, while illustrating targets for future efforts.

During the count from February 3-19, more than 1,700 farmers, gamekeepers and land managers took out their binoculars to gather a snapshot of the health of the nation's cherished farmland birds.

A total of 460,000 birds of 149 species were recorded across more than 1.5m acres of UK farmland.

Norfolk once again submitted the most returns, with 164 farmers completing the survey, followed by Wiltshire with 109, Suffolk with 93 and Hampshire with 85.

The top five most abundant birds - starling, woodpigeon, rook, linnet and lapwing - made up more than half of the total birds counted in 2023.

The most frequently-spotted species were blackbirds, woodpigeons and robins, seen on 70pc of counts. But birds seen by less than 1pc of participants included elusive species like jack snipe and bittern, or rare and declining birds like the willow tit.

A large proportion of birds counted were from species of conservation concern, with 33 on the Red List and 47 on the Amber List.

Starlings, lapwings, fieldfares and linnets were the four most abundant Red-Listed species, with nearly 200,000 counted, equating to 42pc of all birds recorded.

GWCT Big Farmland Bird Count organiser Dr Roger Draycott said: "The fact that the count is still going strong after 10 years highlights the passion and commitment that British farmers have for the birds on their farms and their keenness to understand how the birds – whether Red-Listed or not – are faring."