RSPB Lapwing Figures

Birds in Wales states that the Lapwing has been declining as a breeding bird in Wales since the 1920’s. The total Welsh population was estimated in 1987 at 7,500 pairs, mostly in Gwent, Glamorgan, Anglesey, Denbigh and Flint. The loss of its preferred nesting habitat, lowland wet grassland is thought to be a main Factor. By 1992 the population had further reduced to an estimated 1,000 pairs. This decline appears to have slowed so that by 2000 the revised Welsh population estimate is 800 – 850 pairs.

In 1998 the BTO repeated its 1987 survey of the breeding population in England and Wales, visiting the same tetrads as covered in 1987. In Wales 48 pairs were recorded in 152 tetrads, giving an estimate for the whole of Wales of 1700 pairs, (95% confidence limits of 814 – 2782), compared to an estimate of 7,448 pairs (95% confidence limits of 4274 – 11451) in 1987. Although the wide confidence limits on both estimates suggest they should be regarded a little cautiously, the surveys were strictly comparable and show that this once common farmland bird has lost 77% of its population in a decade. The main distribution shown by the survey was in Gwent, Glamorgan and the border Counties and, in 75 tetrads surveyed in Carmarthen, Pembroke, Ceredigion, Brecon, Meirionnydd, Caernarfon and Anglesey, only one was occupied, by a single pair. The survey was, of course, a sampling survey so it did not mean that these Counties lack breeding Lapwing, for example the important Dyfi SSSI population was missed completely. Nevertheless it is impossible to doubt the picture of decline revealed.

The species is now the subject of a major recovery project by RSPB and part of this is to monitor all sites known to have held 10 pairs or more recently, known as Key Sites. Counts for 1998 and 1999 are shown in the table below.

A substantial proportion of the Key sites are in the Dee flood plain, where a detailed survey found 248 pairs (and 60 more in Cheshire). Most of these birds breed in Maize where fledging success has proved to be very poor at 0.14 young/pair. Elsewhere in the Key Sites productivity was 0.49 young/pair and overall in Wales, excluding the Dee flood plain, it was 0.61, which may be just sufficient to maintain the population.

Habitat use is of interest. In 1987 23% of pairs were on tilled land, 77% on agricultural grassland and 3% on non-farmland. In the repeat survey in 1998 33% were on tillage although the area had declined, 31% on agricultural grassland and 31% on non-farmed habitats a statistically significant difference. The Key sites survey has produced similar results with 36% of pairs on spring tillage, 39% on agricultural grassland extensively managed and 16% on industrial sites and 9% on heath and salt marsh, (A. Pickup pers. Comm.).