Lapwing

The Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) is one of our more precious waders. Once very common but now on the red list of birds of concern.

Their common name suggests its distinctive flight of lapping wings. Its other names include Green Plover and Peewit. The latter mimics the sound of its call.

The December photograph above is a dull, rainy view of lapwing on what’s left of the flooded island on the North Pool. As you can see they look almost black and white in this light but when the sun catches them they are an iridescent green and purple. Look out for their distinctive crest too though it can be hard to see at this distance and why binoculars are useful for lapwing spotting.  They also have a knack of blending it to the background so look carefully along the edges of the pools.

Did you know?

Once upon a time lapwings and their eggs were taken for food.

This practice severely reduced the population so the 1928 Protection of Lapwings Act was passed in Parliament to protect them.

Lapwings nest on the ground

This is a hazardous business and less than 40% of chicks are likely to survive. Many will be taken by predators. Some will be killed by early harvesting before chicks have fledged. Too much rain, or too little and not enough food will all have an impact.

So the Avon Wildlife Trust are running a project to bring them back into the Gordano Valley. So hopefully, over time, this will increase local numbers of this gorgeous wader.

Counting lapwing on the reserve

You might like to see if you can spot them around the pools on the nature reserve. You are most likely to see them here between October and March when numbers are swelled by lapwings from Europe.

Below is an A5 template that you can print out and take to the reserve. Count how many you see and record them on this card. By monitoring lapwing numbers we can get a clear idea of how they are faring here.

If you see any let us know by email at info@fpwnr.org.

Further Reading

See all birds on our Portbury Wharf Birds page