Lapwing - Vanellus Vanellus

A wader with a long crest and apparently black and white plumage. On closer inspection the black is metallic green with black markings, legs reddish. Relatively slow flapping flight but capable of great aerobatics particularly in breeding season.

A ground nesting bird usually four eggs, parental duties shared by cock and hen. Aggressive towards intruders to its nesting site. Chicks are quite precocious and are found foraging some distance from the parents who keep watch. They are quite happy swimming if the water is too deep.

Also known as the Peewit or Green Plover, it’s main food sources are insects and earth worms, so damp areas preferred.

The area the CLRT has an interest in, is part of Cefngwyn Hall farm owned by Mr Charles Grisedale. He is a keen conservationist with emphasis on good habitat provision. The main block is 250 acres with a mixture of non-sprayed spring barley, damp grassland, woodland, both hard and soft, and a floating bog. There are also thirty pools on the land, all man-made.

It is no wonder that this wealth of habitat attracts so much life. Bird-life is spectacular, always something to see, (N.B list of birds recorded at Cefngwyn also Ty-Gwyn Pool a part of Cefngwyn).