Wading Bird Welfare and Farmland Management

Lapwings, redshanks, curlews, and snipe have declined dramatically on UK farmland. Agri-environment schemes provide welfare benefits by restoring breeding habitat.

Key Facts

Lapwing populations declined by 54% on UK farmland between 1987 and 2012
Curlew populations fell by 65% in England between 1994 and 2012
Wading birds nest on the ground and are highly vulnerable to predation and machinery
Agri-environment payments for wet grassland management support wading bird breeding
RSPB Hope Farm demonstrates that profitable farming and wader recovery are compatible

Welfare Considerations

Wading bird welfare on farmland involves multiple threats. Chicks and eggs destroyed by silage-cutting machinery suffer acute traumatic deaths. Drainage of wet meadows removes the soft ground essential for probing invertebrate prey, causing nutritional stress. Predation by foxes, corvids, and hedgehogs (themselves declining species) affects breeding success. Conservation grazing management that maintains soft, wet, tussocky swards provides the habitat waders need for feeding, nesting, and chick-rearing.

What You Can Do

Support agri-environment schemes that reward wading bird-friendly farming
Advocate for curlew and lapwing to receive higher conservation priority in agricultural policy
Join RSPB farmland bird surveys to contribute to monitoring data
Encourage farmers in your area to investigate agri-environment payment options
Support Curlew Action which coordinates curlew conservation across the UK