BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Lapwing

LAPWING
Vanellus vanellus

Lapwing © Mike Weston

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category, (secure)
UK: Amber (25-50% population decline, >20% European wintering population)

Long-term trend

UK: moderate decline

Status summary

The Amber listing of this species is now based on UK decline, as well as the original criterion of international importance. CBC recorded some increase in its early years, and on WBS plots increase continued until the mid 1980s. Lapwings declined rapidly on lowland farmland through the 1980s, probably because changes in agricultural practice led to reduced productivity (Hudson et al. 1994, Siriwardena et al. 2000). Adult and first-year survival rates show no trend through time (Peach et al. 1994, Catchpole et al. 1999), but the nest record data show an increase in failure rates at the egg stage (29 days, comprising 26 days incubation and 3 days laying). National surveys in England and Wales showed a 49% population decline between 1987 and 1998 (Wilson et al. 2001). Population declines in excess of 50% over 15 years in Northern Ireland (Henderson et al. 2002) mirror similar declines throughout grassland areas of Wales and southeast England (Wilson et al. 2001). BBS data indicate little change in England since 1994, but steep decline in Scotland.

Table of population changes for Lapwing

Source Period
(yrs) Years Plots
(n) Change
(%) Lower
limit Upper
limit Alert Comment

CBC/BBS UK 33 1967-2000 164 -29 -62 13

25 1975-2000 197 -46 -65 -27 >25

10 1990-2000 381 -15 -32 6

5 1995-2000 589 -5 -12 5

CBC/BBS England 33 1967-2000 134 -19 -59 14

25 1975-2000 161 -46 -63 -28 >25

10 1990-2000 308 -13 -27 15

5 1995-2000 477 0 -10 13

WBS waterways 25 1975-2000 39 170 -12 819

10 1990-2000 40 -12 -27 9

5 1995-2000 40 -7 -20 8

BBS UK 8 1994-2002 533 -18 -24 -11

BBS England 8 1994-2002 426 8 -2 18

BBS Scotland 8 1994-2002 84 -39 -50 -26 (>25)

Table of productivity information for Lapwing

Variable	Period (yrs)	Years	Mean annual sample	Trend	Predicted in first year	Predicted in last year	Change	Comment
Clutch size	33	1968-2001	129	Linear increase	3.69 eggs	3.82 eggs	0.13 eggs
Daily failure rate (eggs)	33	1968-2001	140	Curvilinear	0.0174 nests/day	0.0258 nests/day	0.0084 nests/day
Laying date	33	1968-2001	32	None

Insufficient data on brood size
available for this species

Insufficient data on nestling failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species


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This report should be cited as: Crick, H.Q.P., Marchant, J.H., Noble, D.G., Baillie, S.R., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2004) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2003. BTO Research Report No. 353. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2003) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 16 February, 2009