During the early spring months, when the mornings start to get slightly
warmer and nights begin to get a bit lighter. The frost in the early mornings
will start to retreat and some of the brave people have been starting to
discard their thick winter coats and venture into wearing lighter garments. At
this time of year there is also other air changes happening in a lot of
different areas of the United Kingdom. There are certain areas of the UK that
become deserted such as the upland moorland in the Northumberland and there has
not been much in this area except red grouse. When the spring starts to
approach these areas will start to show indications of new life.
Spring is a lovely time of year when the skies are filled with cries from
the curlews, meadow pipits start to flutter through the grassy heather whilst
the golden plumage of plover is shining in the sunshine. There is one other
birds which is common to these habitats. This bird swoops and dives over
moorland and fields whilst its quick wingbeats make a loud humming noise as it flies
past and it makes pee wit echoes which sound like an iconic flute all-round the
countryside, this bird is the lapwing.
The lapwing tend to be known as a few different names which includes the
peewit, green plover and its scientific name which is Vanellus vanellus. Regardless of the name that you use for them there
is no mistaking that this is an enchanting species however it is sadly lacking
in numbers. The lapwing species is struggling somewhat on the shores of the United
Kingdom. The struggle for this breed is now at a point where it has been listed
on the Red List of Birds that are a Conservation Concern.
The concerning thing is that the decline of the lapwing first started
on the shores of the United Kingdom back in the 1800s. It is thought that the decline
during this period was due to people collecting lapwing eggs for food and this
was later stopped under the Lapwing Act which came into effect in 1926 and this
prohibited such practices. Following 1926 the lapwing numbers increased however
by 1940s they were in trouble again, this time it was thought to be due to the
change in farmland usage, as grassland was being converted into arable land, marginal
lands were being drained and intensified usages of chemical fertilisers and
pesticides. The population of lapwing stabilised in 1960s albeit at a much
lower level.
Since the 1960s however things have not improved. Grasses are shorter
and pastures have improved therefore the eggs of lapwings have become victim of
the increased amount of livestock who trample on the eggs. The increased drainage,
tillage and pesticides have reduced the food sources for the lapwing. Rotational
farming has disappeared over the years and this has reduced the land which is
available for habitat mosaics which lapwings need in order to be able to rear
chicks successfully.
The decline of the lapwing has actually been greater in Wales and
Southern England, as the intensification of farming has been greater. Overall the
lapwing has seen a decline of about eighty per cent since 1960.
The breeding of lapwings is not very successful and they produce less
than one chick per pair each year. This is not even one chick a year but this
is due to so many different areas getting converted into improved grassland and
they need to exceed the mortality of rates of the adult, which is not as easy
as it may sound.
Although all of the information makes it look very bleak for the
lapwing do not get too depressed. There are actually areas where the lapwing
are thriving. Upland areas that have rough grazing is one example of areas
where these birds are doing well as they provide the sort of habitat that is
required. It is still possible that the declining numbers can be reversed and
the breed could thrive again. This reversal could happen if better methods of farming
are adopted, as this would allow for mosaic habitats of grassland and
springtime crops, whilst having areas that have been unimproved and damp
grassland. That is all very easy to say but it is easy to say it but harder to
actually do it. There is some programs in the United Kingdom that offer grants
to landowners who farm their land in ways which will benefit the lapwing,
however there is still a lot about this breed that is unknown.
