Our nesting Lapwings are rather shy birds and leave the nest before we can get anywhere near them. This means we need to be sat in a vehicle to undertake nest monitoring. Birds are remarkably tolerant of people in a vehicle, which is in stark contrast to what happens when you open the car door. On our central wet grassland, we use a Ford Ranger to drive around the perimeter of the anti-predator fence to check on the progress of the breeding birds. So far we have 16 Lapwing nests, 7 of which have already hatched. This is great news, but there are also some surprises.
View of the southern half of the Central Wet Grassland taken last Tuesday
The flooded conditions this year have turned the wet grassland into more of a wash, which has attracted more than just Lapwings. We have the odd Redshank and Snipe in there, but surprisingly, 30 pairs of Black-headed Gull have taken to nesting on protruding tussocks in the flooded fields. Black-headed Gulls normally nest on islands, safe from predators. What will happen when all this water starts to recede in summer ? What will the gull chicks think when they hatch in the middle of a field ? When these chicks mature, will they try to nest in a field ? Will there ever be a summer ?
We also have 3 Avocet nests. Great news as this is an iconic bird on an RSPB reserve. But Avocets are another species associated with islands. What will the Avocet chicks think when they hatch in a field ?
Whatever happens, it’s going to be landmark and exciting breeding season, which will help shape the future hydrological management of the wet grassland, or should we call it a wash ?