Soaring joy of lapwings
The lapwings have now hatched in front of our house here at Ulva Ferry, Mull. We have seven pairs this year, as opposed to the six we had last year. Even a tiny upward trend is promising for a species that has suffered much in the last decades.
It is a source of so much joy to have these truly entertaining birds rearing their young in what is basically our front garden.
Firstly, there is their striking black and white plumage and impressive crest. On closer inspection, however, one can see they are made up of many more colours. With purple and shades of green, they are still known in some areas as the “green plover”.
But their calls take them to the next level, surely one of the most memorable instruments of the bird orchestra. Their electronic pops, wheezes and whistles are all impressively accompanied by spectacular dance, as the peewits (another common name for them) roller coaster, loop the loop and back flip their way over their nesting ground.
I have noticed also that they join the short list of birds that have “drumming” or a non-vocal sound as part of their courtship performance. Usually when they have finished their more common aerial display, they then flap, flap, flap their way over the ground creating a particular sound which is clearly intentionally adding to the display.
Snipe, which also nest along side our lapwing, are famous for their drumming. They dive out of the sky, tail feathers vibrating creating the weirdest bleating goat-type noise. They are known in many countries as the flying goat, and in Scotland they have been known as the “heather bleater”.
Short-eared owls also do well on Mull without two of the main predators of ground nesting birds, foxes and badgers. They also “drum” or rather, what is more commonly known as “clapping” in their case. They also dive out of the sky while displaying and clap their wings under their bodies. Another of my favourite wildlife spectacles to witness.
Lapwings are incredible parents. They defend their eggs and chicks with serious commitment and aggression. They have many species to defend them from!
In front of our house, hoodies are the most commonly attacked, followed by buzzards and ravens, but hen harriers also get violently swooped upon as they hunt and I would imagine the local barn, tawny and long-eared owls get hammered at night.
I can certainly still hear the lapwing attacking something once the sun has gone down.
A recent camera trap study on wader nests carried out in Scotland surprisingly discovered that sheep were in fact responsible for a number of the nest failures either through trampling or indeed eating the eggs or chicks. I knew that deer would do this. I believe many so called “herbivores” will actually supplement their vegetarian diet with meat, eggs etc if the opportunity arises, but it was a bit of a surprise for me to read that sheep were doing it in some places too.
As to the extent of this particular problem facing wading birds on farm land, much more data would need to be collected. I have not, as yet, seen the lapwing attacking sheep or the cows in front of our house. Grazing animals are, in fact, well known to be good for breeding waders. They poop, providing extra insect life, and keep the vegetation shorter which is important, especially for lapwings.
Watching them attacking the hoodies etc though is another source of great entertainment. They make contact sometimes with their attacks and do not let the crows within 200m of their nest grounds without seeing them off, often with much back up and aerial display.
Hopefully the lapwing, along with the snipe and curlew in front of our house, will have a productive year and their many predators will not eat all the chicks.
Big love to all, as new around us. life explodes all