About me!
Hi, I’m Joss, a master's student at Queen’s University Belfast, studying Ecological Management and Conservation Biology. I have recently finished my summer placement with RSPB NI, working alongside the conservation team in the Antrim Plateau. My research project was titled “Declining upland Lapwing population response to Agri-environmental scheme options”. I’m from Co. Donegal and have grown-up surrounded by all kinds of animals (special mention to my ducks, Penelope and Puddles).
Photo: Master's student Joss
Coming from a farming background sparked my interest in this project, as we used to have breeding Lapwing on the farm which have unfortunately disappeared in recent years. I knew I wanted to do something in the world of avian conservation, but ultimately it was the link between conservation and agriculture and being able to work alongside farmers which made me want to do this placement.
Lapwing Fallow Plots
As you may know, Lapwing populations in the UK and Europe have suffered major declines since the 1980’s, driven by large scale changes in farming and increased levels of predation at the nest and chick stages. Looking more locally, the Glenwherry Lapwing pair count has decreased dramatically over the last 7 years, from 42 in 2015 to just 15 recorded last year.
Photo: Lapwing in field by Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
To tackle this problem, Lapwing Fallow Plots (LFP) have been taken on by six farmers in the Glenwherry Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) group. These plots consist of two hectares of land that have been grubbed up in early spring, leaving broken ground habitat which is perfect for nesting lapwing. They are then left fallow for the duration of the breeding season. The fallow plots are protected from predators by semi-permanent fences. LFPs are an option through the EFS Higher Scheme, one of many Agri-Environment Schemes (AES), in which farmers are compensated financially for changing certain farming practices to provide more environmental benefits. The aim of these plots is to create a network of protected habitat that is suitable for Lapwing over a large area. I was able to get involved in putting up these fences in early February, which was hard work and working in wet muddy fields wasn’t easy. But ultimately it was worth it, knowing the level of protection that the Lapwing nests would have.
Life on Placement
One of the questions I got asked most frequently by friends and family was - what does my typical day look like? My main role was to monitor the six LFPs and two other sites in Glenwherry where we had Lapwing nesting. Nest finding was done through walkover and vantage point surveys, and once any nests were found their GPS co-ordinates were marked and checked on a weekly basis. This part of the season was one of the most enjoyable parts for me as nest finding was very fun and a bit like a treasure hunt! Sitting and watching the Lapwing and finally figuring out where the nest was located was very satisfying. Things got a bit crazy a few weeks later when nests began to hatch and there were a lot of chicks running around. Another part of my project involved taking soil cores in each of the Lapwing Fallow Plots to look at what invertebrates were living in the soil, that would make up a vital part of chicks’ diets.
How the season went….
It was generally a good year for Lapwing productivity in Glenwherry with a pair count of 22 Lapwing, an increase of 6 pairs from last year. Out of the six LFPs, only one was used by Lapwing for breeding purposes. However, this site had a nest survival rate of 100%, meaning out of 9 pairs we didn’t lose a single nest. Productivity was well above the 0.6-0.8 required for Lapwing populations to remain stable. However, more plots would need to be occupied by breeding Lapwing in future to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of fenced fallow plots.
Photo: Lapwing and young by Amy Millard (rspb-images.com)
Whilst all the LFPs weren’t utilised as hoped, it was really encouraging to see such a high take up in the LFP that was used, as this site was the original trial site that had been there for the past two years.
With some modifications to the others, it is hoped that we will have the same success at other sites in the future years of this ongoing study. This research is so important as it provides evidence for the effectiveness of agri-environment schemes and this study should hopefully grow the awareness of this type of scheme and encourage more farmers to get involved and play an active role in conserving Lapwing.