The lapwing is one of Britain most charismatic waders, with its iridescent plumage and tumbling song flight, but its population has fallen by over 50% since the 1970s as wet grassland, traditionally managed arable fields, and rough pasture have been transformed.
Lapwing welfare has been systematically undermined by the drainage of wet grassland, the removal of rough pasture, the advance of silage cutting, and the loss of spring-sown crops that provided suitable nesting conditions. Chick survival is the key demographic bottleneck: chicks that cannot reach invertebrate-rich damp soil within days of hatching die of starvation. Recovery programs combining late cutting, water level management, and predator control have demonstrated rapid local population increases.