Showing posts with label lapwing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lapwing. Show all posts

Thursday, 26 July 2012

Lapwings hit new low; further declines in UK breeding waders revealed

Waders in decline
July 2012. The latest figures from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) show that four of our breeding waders have reached their lowest levels since the survey started in the early 1990s. Volunteer birdwatchers reported particularly low numbers of Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Snipe and Curlew during the spring of 2011.
These birds breed on wet grassland and upland habitats throughout the UK, where they rely on earthworms and other invertebrates for food, and previous declines have been blamed on habitat loss, land drainage and potential increases in predation pressure. All four species, however, saw sharp declines between 2010 and 2011, of 19% for Oystercatcher, 18% for Lapwing, 40% for Snipe and 13% for Curlew, which may have been due to unfavourable weather conditions during the year exacerbating long-term declines.
Curlew
Kate Risely, BBS organiser at the British Trust for Ornithology, said "It is very worrying to see sharp declines in numbers of breeding waders such as Lapwing and Snipe, typical birds of open country. The long-term decline in breeding Curlew has contributed to the species now being listed as globally near-threatened. BBS results are crucial in understanding the causes behind bird declines, and we owe this information to dedicated volunteer birdwatchers across the country"
"The spring of 2012 has seen the wettest April-to-June period on record, and it's likely that populations of these ground-nesting waders would have also been hit hard this year. Flooding at several key sites has seen hundreds of wader nests washed out, including 600 at the RSPB's Ouse Washes reserve in Cambridgeshire" said Grahame Madge, RSPB Media Officer.
100 species studied
The BBS produces annual population trends for over one hundred of our widespread bird species. While many birds are thriving, ten species have declined by more than 50% since the start of the survey in 1994, including Turtle Dove, which has declined by a staggering 80%.
Most studied birds migrate
This list emphasises declines in farmland and woodland birds, and of migrants; all but three of the birds in this list (Willow Tit, Grey Partridge and Starling) migrate to Africa for the winter.

Sunday, 21 June 2009

Birds lap up new wetland

A NEW wetland has proved an instant success attracting lapwings and curlews to breed in its first year.

The new habitat on the Tadnoll and Winfrith nature reserve was created by Dorset Wildlife Trust and consists of two scrapes, or shallow ponds, on the old Prison Fields.




curlew



“We were hoping to see waders feeding on the new scrapes over the winter, with the possibility of breeding within a few years,” said Sarah Williams, rivers and wetlands conservation officer.



“I am over the moon that both lapwings and curlews have found the new habitat good enough to raise their young in the very first year.


“We hope these will be the first of many waders to breed here.”


lapwing







Lapwing and curlew pairs raised two chicks each, but the curlew chicks are believed to have been killed by foxes or dogs.


The two young lapwings, an endangered species, survived and flew off with their parents.


Work began on the reserve last summer and sluices were installed on the existing ditches to hold water and the shallow temporary ponds were added to provide wet, grassy areas.


Wading birds first arrived last winter, including green sandpipers, snipe and lapwings. This spring dragonflies attracted hobbies, small falcons which hunt them.


A bird hide will be installed in the autumn so people can keep an eye on the waders and there is a new dog-friendly trail which avoids the bird sensitive areas.


Ground nesting birds include nightjars and Dartford warblers on the dry heath.


By Diana Henderson



http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4449714.Birds_lap_up_new_wetland/
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