Wild wheat has been planted on a former rubbish tip to attract rare birds.

Conservation group volunteers are cultivating the crest of a landfill mound at Cromwell Bottom, Brighouse, to attract tree sparrows, buntings and finches.

The birds, once common in the area, have become a rarity during the last 25 years following the introduction of modern farming methods.

Paul Talbot, a founder member of the Friends of Cromwell Bottom group, said: "It's an experiment. We're the first to do it in West Yorkshire and we don't know if it will work at Cromwell Bottom.

"If we're lucky the crops will self-seed each year and attract birds from a wide area. In the past these birds would have survived on seeds in farmers' fields left after crops were harvested.

"Nowadays, farmers plough fields after the harvest instead of waiting until spring, so the seeds are lost."

He added: "I used to see a tree sparrow every day but I haven't seen one in Calderdale now for two years, though I'm told there are still some around."

The group, which has a hard-core of 15 volunteers, hired a tractor and drill sowing machine to plant a mixture of barley, wheat and black oats over a three-quarter acre section of Tag Loop - one of two landfill mounds at the site.

Mr Talbot said he believed the crops would grow to a height of 18 inches but there was no way of knowing if birds would be attracted or if the crops would grow unaided for a second year.

The Friends of Cromwell Bottom group was formed in June last year after a power company applied to build a small power station at the site.

In December, the group won charitable status in a bid to attract grants to conserve and manage the landfill site.

On-going projects include clearing ponds of bullrushes to attract frogs, newts and insects, and the clearing of woodland to create more wetland - which is rare in Calderdale.

And members hope to get the area recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by English Nature, on account of its population of dragonflies and amphibians.

Tim Cleeves, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said: "What they're doing is terrific. The population of seed-eating birds has been badly hit by modern farming methods."

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