The Peewit’s Protector: Why Gamekeepers Are the Lifeline for Lapwings

If you walk across a managed grouse moor in spring, you will likely be greeted by one of the most evocative sounds of the British uplands: the call of the ‘Peewit’.

Yet, across much of the UK, its distinct call is fading into silence. The Lapwing is now Red-listed, meaning it is of the highest conservation concern.

But there is a notable buck in this trend. On the managed grouse moors of Northern England, Lapwings are not just surviving; they are breeding, fledging, and thriving in numbers rarely seen elsewhere.

Why is this species holding on here when it is vanishing elsewhere? The answer lies not just in the heather, but in the human element: the grouse moor gamekeeper.

The Vulnerability of the Ground Nester

To understand why gamekeepers are so vital, we first have to look at the Lapwing’s lifestyle. Like the Curlew and the Golden Plover, Lapwings nest on the ground. They lay their eggs in simple scrapes in the grass or short heather, completely exposed to the elements.

For a month, those eggs are sitting ducks, relying entirely on camouflage. Even after they hatch, the challenges intensify. Unlike garden birds that stay in a nest to be fed, Lapwing chicks are flightless for weeks and must wander the moor on foot to forage for insects. In today’s landscape, this makes them incredibly vulnerable.

Generalist predators - specifically foxes and Carrion crows - have seen their numbers rise significantly in the UK. These predators are adaptable and opportunistic; they do not rely solely on waders for food, meaning their numbers remain high even when wader populations crash. Without protection, a ground-nesting bird stands little chance against this sustained pressure.

Research has shown that in some unmanaged areas, pairs of waders are failing to rear a single chick to adulthood. They are essentially being lured into an "ecological trap" or a graveyard - nesting in habitat that looks visually perfect, but which is actually a lethal predator hotspot.

The "Keeper Factor": Protection is Key

This is where the gamekeeper makes the critical difference. It is often said that conservation is 50% habitat and 50% protection. The evidence suggests that for Lapwings, the protection element is non-negotiable.

Recent scientific studies have highlighted exactly how much this "Keeper Factor" matters, turning grouse moors into vital "source" populations that can help repopulate surrounding areas:

• The Trebling Effect: The landmark Upland Predation Experiment conducted on moorland in Northern England found that breeding success for ground-nesting birds was three times higher when legal predator control was in place. Without this control, populations struggled to simply replace themselves.

• The Survival Rate: When gamekeepers legally control the numbers of foxes and crows, they provide a "shield" around the nesting birds during the critical spring months. This allows the Lapwings to get their chicks on the wing. Data shows that on grouse moors, waders are up to four times more likely to successfully fledge chicks compared to unmanaged land.

• Boots on the Ground: This isn't about nature taking its course; it is about rebalancing the odds in a landscape where humans have already altered the natural balance. Keepers work unsociable hours, often from dawn until long after dark in freezing rain and snow, to ensure these birds survive to see the sunrise. It is a level of intensity and professionalism that volunteer-led conservation struggles to match.

Success Through Habitat Management

While protection is the shield, the habitat is the home. Gamekeepers manage the moors primarily for Red Grouse, but Lapwings are major beneficiaries of this work, acting as an "umbrella species" under the grouse's protection.

Lapwings are fussy about their habitat. They prefer a "mosaic" of vegetation - patches of short heather or grass to nest in (so they can see predators coming) and taller, wetter areas nearby where their chicks can find insects.

• Vegetation Management: Through techniques like cool burning and cutting, keepers create exactly this varied structure. The "cool burn" removes old, woody heather, stimulating new green shoots that provide food for grouse and perfect nesting sites for Lapwings.

• Rewetting: Grouse moor managers are at the forefront of peatland restoration, blocking thousands of miles of historic agricultural drains to keep the moors wetter. This is crucial for Lapwing chicks, which need soft, wet ground to probe for protein-rich insects like craneflies during the dry summer months.

This combination of the right home and the right security is what we call Integrated Moorland Management.

The Alternative: Evidence of Loss

Critics of grouse shooting often suggest that if we simply stopped management and let the moors "rewild," nature would find a balance. Sadly, the evidence tells a very different, and much quieter, story. When the keepers leave, the waders do not stay.

We have real-world examples of what happens to Lapwings when gamekeepers are removed:

• The Langholm Study: In a famous ten-year experiment in the Scottish borders, predator control was stopped to see what would happen. The result was rapid and devastating. Fox numbers rose by 78% and crows by 127%. Consequently, the Lapwing population declined by 58%, and the moor ceased to be a viable breeding ground.

• The Berwyn Warning: In North Wales, the Berwyn Special Protection Area was once a nationally significant stronghold for waders. When driven grouse shooting ended and the keepers left, the results were catastrophic. The area saw massive declines in birdlife, with some wader species dropping by nearly 80% or vanishing entirely. This proves that without the human effort to control predation, the "sink" effect takes over, and populations collapse.

• Lake Vyrnwy: At this RSPB reserve, despite millions in public funding and extensive habitat work, the removal of traditional keepering techniques led to the near-total loss of key species that once thrived there. It serves as a stark reminder that public money cannot replace the practical expertise of the gamekeeper.

Conclusion: Valuing the Human Element

The recovery of the Lapwing on our moors is not an accident of nature. It is the direct result of hard work, investment, and boots on the ground.

We cannot separate the bird from the keeper. If we want to keep the "Peewit" call echoing across our uplands, we must support the people who protect them. The gamekeeper provides a level of intensive, daily care - controlling the threats that others ignore - that no other conservation model has been able to replicate effectively at scale.

Saving our ground-nesting birds requires more than just good intentions or passive protection; it requires action. It requires the keeper.

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