To protect birds, wait a few months to trim your hedges, asks the French Office for Biodiversity

To let the birds nest quietly, the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) recommends Friday, March 17 not to cut the hedges at least until the end of August. “The OFB encourages communities, professionals and individuals to avoid trimming hedges and pruning trees from the beginning of March to the end of August so as not to disturb or dislodge the birds during this crucial period of their life cycle”writes the public office in a press release.

This recommendation comes as the situation continues to deteriorate for birds: nearly half of the species are in decline in the world and one in eight is threatened with extinction, lamented in September the international NGO BirdLife in its reference report (in English). The OFB also advocates avoiding any uprooting of hedges and stresses that it is not necessary to cut them every year. The hedges are “biodiversity champions” And “can accommodate up to 35 species of mammals, 80 species of birds, 8 species of bats, 15 species of reptiles-amphibians or 100 species of insects”, he points out. For farmers, the size of hedges is prohibited for several months, also to protect the reproduction and nesting of birds.