Wildlife

Wading Bird Habitat and Breeding Season Welfare

Wading birds including lapwing, curlew, and redshank have declined dramatically due to habitat loss, with welfare implications for birds disturbed or killed during breeding.

Key Facts

Curlew populations have declined by 48% in the UK since 1994
Ground-nesting waders are highly vulnerable to predation and agricultural disturbance
Lapwing nests are destroyed during early silage cuts if not mapped and avoided
Agri-environment schemes support wet grassland management for waders
Wader breeding success depends critically on low-disturbance management from April to July

Welfare Considerations

Agricultural operations during the breeding season kill or displace wader chicks and destroy nests, causing direct welfare harm to individual birds. Surveying for nests before operations, fitting nest guards, and delaying cuts where nests are found significantly reduces mortality. Supporting agri-environment schemes incentivising wet grassland management improves breeding success at scale.

What You Can Do

Support agri-environment schemes funding wet grassland for waders
Avoid disturbance to known wader nesting areas during April to July
Participate in wader monitoring surveys including BTO surveys
Advocate for mandatory nest checking before agricultural operations in wader habitat
Donate to conservation organisations running wader recovery projects