Breeding Lapwings in England and Wales

In summer 1998 the BTO, with financial support from RSPB, carried out a survey of Lapwings in England and Wales.

Numbers of breeding Lapwings and land use types were recorded by volunteers in 1,312 randomly selected tetrads using identical methodology to that adopted in a previous survey in 1987. A total of 97% of the tetrads surveyed in 1998 had also been covered in 1987.

The results suggest a population of c 63,000 breeding pairs, representing a 49% decline in 11 years. The declines were most severe in Southwest England and Wales, resulting in a marked retraction in range in southern and western Britain. Numbers of Lapwings remained highest in the north of England but even here the species has declined by almost 50%.

Large numbers of birds were present in both grassland and arable habitats, highlighting the association of Lapwings with a range of habitat types and their vulnerability to agricultural changes in both pastoral and arable systems. Within these two broad habitat types, the most preferred were spring till and rough grass.

Recent major changes in land management practices, including the switch from spring to autumn sowing and the conversion of rough to intensively managed, improved grassland is likely to have reduced both the area and suitability of both these key habitats for Lapwings.

Grassland within arable areas is known to provide important chick rearing habitat, and spring till with adjacent grassland was significantly more likely to hold Lapwings than spring till that did not abut grass fields. The prevalence of grass and spring till fields in close proximity has declined in recent years with the loss of traditional mixed farming and the polarization of pastoral systems in the west and arable in the east of Britain.

The implications of these results for the conservation of Lapwings are discussed and it is recommended that, in the light of the scale of the decline recorded, Lapwings should be afforded much higher conservation priority in Britain than they are at present. The range retraction has resulted in high numbers being concentrated on reserves, highlighting the importance of sensitive management of these areas for this species.

However, wider countryside measures should also be considered, such as specific options within agri-environment schemes, designed to enhance farmland habitats for Lapwings

For the latest information on population trends CLICK HERE.

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