Jeremy Clarkson has transformed Diddly Squat Farm into a haven for birds, with 45 species now recorded compared to the average farm’s 27, after the former Top Gear star made environmental changes including wider hedgerows and new ponds
Jeremy Clarkson has shared a poignant moment from his time on Diddly Squat Farm that left him feeling “sad”. The former Top Gear host, who purchased a thousand acres of land including Curdle Hill Farm in 2008, was disheartened by the lack of birds at his Chipping Norton site.
The farm was previously run by a tenant, but when they departed in 2019, Jeremy took up the reins himself. His foray into farming has been chronicled in the popular Amazon Prime Video series, Clarkson’s Farm.
Jeremy expressed his sorrow over the noticeable decline in bird population since he first started farming six years ago. In his column for the Sunday Times magazine, he revealed: “Since 1970 their numbers have plummeted by more than 60 per cent, and when I first bought Diddly Squat this sorry state of affairs was obvious. I’d go for a walk and the skies were completely empty.”
Determined to make a change, the TV personality decided to take action when he began farming seven years ago. He explained: “This made me sad, so when I started farming the land seven years ago I decided to do something about it. Away from the roads, I stopped trimming the hedges and widened the margins round the edges of the fields.”
According to Jeremy, farmers are required to leave between four and six metres around the edges of fields. However, he chose to leave 10 in some areas to foster a healthier environment for the birds, even though it meant producing less food, reports Gloucestershire Live.
In addition to this, Jeremy also dug ponds across Diddly Squat. While he humorously admits this is because he “loves using diggers,” he also hopes it will provide a water source that could help bring back farmland birds.
Jeremy later planted “wildflower strips” around the farm to encourage insects as “tasty snacks” for the birds, eventually reaching out to bird expert Hannah Bourne-Taylor for guidance.
Hannah, who once made headlines when she extended a trip to Ghana by 84 days because a bird nested in her hair, encouraged him to make more changes at Diddly Squat, including planting “all sorts of things with Latin names”.
However, the dry weather meant that none of the flowers actually grew. Jeremy added: “She’s also told me to rent a digger and make more ponds, because birds don’t like to travel.
“A corn bunting, for example, rarely strays more than a mile or so from the hedge where it was born.”
The former Grand Tour star says Hannah eventually found 45 different species of bird at Diddly Squat, whilst the average farm is just home to 27, he claims.
Among the species discovered at Jeremy’s farm were whitethroats, goldfinches, buntings, and skylarks. He says that while most of the birds were “small and boring,” he was pleased to see his efforts paid off.
As well as Diddly Squat Farm, Jeremy’s farming venture has seen him investing in the nearby Farmer’s Dog pub. He recently admitted the pub was costing a “fortune” to run but says punters have “loved” the venue.
