There is concern that predation of Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus nests may create additional pressure on declining populations of this species in Europe. At seven sites in England and Wales,
daily nest predation rates on 1,390 nests were related to variables using Generalised Linear Mixed Models. The strongest predictor
was Lapwing nest density (number of nests within 100 m): predation rates declined as nest density increased. Since nocturnal
species, probably mammals, have been identified as the major predators of Lapwing nests at these sites, these results suggest
that Lapwings are able to deter mammalian predators or may settle to nest at high densities in areas with low predation pressure.
At the site level, there was no relationship between Lapwing nesting density and fox density, and a positive relationship
with Carrion Crow
Corvus corone nesting density. There was a weaker effect of distance to field boundary: nests closer to boundaries were more likely to
be predated. Weak interactive effects between crow density and both nest visibility and distance to vantage point were identified
in models using a reduced subset of nests. These were counter-intuitive, did not persist in the larger data set, and do not
have obvious explanations. If Lapwings nesting at high density
are able to deter predators, there are implications for land management. Smaller areas could be managed within potential breeding
habitat to encourage Lapwings to nest in dense colonies. Selection of larger fields for such management, where nests could
be located far from the field boundary should improve the value of such measures.
Keywords Lapwing - Nest predation - Wet grassland - Field boundary - Nest density
Communicated by F. Bairlein.