John Hirst, of Manor Farm, Halton Gill, North Yorkshire is a long-standing member of Defra's Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme and he has been working with the Rural Development Service and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to encourage Yellow Wagtails and other species on his land.
To give the ground-nesting birds time to raise their young, Mr Hirst has annually delayed cutting his fields but, the birds nested later than usual, turning one of his meadows into a nursery.
Unable to harvest the crop in this field without harming the birds - or to get through it to two further fields - Mr Hirst opted to wait for the young birds to fledge, hoping they would do so before rain ruined the hay.
Yellow wagtail populations have declined by 25 per cent to 50 per cent nationally since the early 1980s and they are one of the species being actively encouraged in this part of the Yorkshire Dales under Defra's new Environmental Stewardship scheme.
They are often found nesting in meadows beside watercourses and Mr Hirst's farm has plenty of these.
Mr Hirst said: "We're very keen to encourage wildlife on the farm, so when we found the Yellow Wagtails we wanted to provide the best conditions for them.
Grateful
"Ian Court, Species Officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, has been monitoring them over the years and we agreed to hold off cutting the meadow until we were sure that any young would be able to fly away from the machinery."
Claire Harris of the Rural Development Service said: "We're very grateful for John's work over the last few years, which has contributed to the recovery of the stunning Yellow Wagtail and to the overall environment in this area."