Supporting Lapwing within the South Downs National Park
In collaboration with:
For several years, FWAG South East has been working with landowners in the Selborne Landscape Partnership to support farmland bird recovery, with a particular focus on the nationally red-listed Lapwing. Once a characteristic species of the South Downs, Lapwing populations have declined significantly, largely due to predation and loss of suitable nesting habitat. This project, supported by the South Down National Park Authority’s Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme, seeks to reverse that trend by putting practical measures in place to protect breeding birds and engage the local farming community in their conservation.
At the centre of the initiative are four 1-hectare lapwing plots that will be safeguarded with electric fencing, built to specifications developed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, to reduce the risk from ground predators such as foxes. The plots are also surrounded by flower-rich habitat, ensuring both nesting cover and wider biodiversity gains. To complement this, farmers are provided with Larsen traps to manage avian predator pressure, alongside advice and training to ensure best practice. Monitoring is central to the approach: each plot is fitted with camera traps and supported by volunteer surveys, generating robust data on nesting success and predator activity.
The project goes beyond physical interventions by fostering knowledge exchange. Collaborative workshops with neighbouring farmer groups share management advice and encourage others to adopt Lapwing-friendly practices. Volunteers from the South Downs National Park help to set up and maintain the electric fencing as well as monitoring the plots, ensuring that the initiative also strengthens public engagement with conservation.
Through these combined efforts, the project aims to improve Lapwing breeding success and help rebuild a sustainable local population. Early results and lessons learned will be fed back into the Selborne Landscape Partnership each year, creating an adaptive, farmer-led model for Lapwing conservation. In doing so, the project demonstrates how targeted predator management, habitat protection and community collaboration can deliver real gains for nature while reinforcing the cultural identity of the South Downs landscape.
