Lapwings prefer to breed and roost on farmland with spring-sown crops, open damp grasslands or moorlands close to a mixture of arable fields and permanent grasslands, that can provide them with a constant supply of worms and insects to feed on. In winter you may see them in ploughed fields and flooded grasslands.

Across the UK, lapwings have suffered catastrophic declines over the last 25 years. Unfortunately this decline is still happening and in Wales is getting worse. In 1970 breeding pairs were estimated to be around 13,000, this had fallen to 7,448 in 1987 and only 1,698 in 1998!! Reasons for these declines are still being investigated, but some of the factors include:

• Loss of suitable habitat (e.g. more intensive farming and loss of unimproved, damp grasslands through drainage)
• Disturbance to sites and destruction of nests during breeding period (e.g. by stock due to more intensive grazing, or due to timing of agricultural operations such as ploughing, or due to increased recreational pressures at sites)
• Shortage of food supply (worms and insects) due to increased chemical use
• Increased risk of predation from species such as fox and buzzard at vulnerable sites

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) runs a project to raise awareness of how to manage farmland to protect farmland birds species such as the lapwing called Operation Lapwing.

Read more information on the Lapwing on the RSPB website.

Find out more about Operation Lapwing on the RSPB website.

Biodiversity in the National Park.