Since the 1980s, the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus Vanellus) population in Germany has decreased by more than 90%. Despite individual regional successes resulting from extensive and targeted management measures, the overall trend remains negative. The species is therefore classified as „critically endangered“ throughout Germany.
The main causes for this decline are primarily the loss of wet meadows, the destruction of clutches due to agricultural use, and high predation pressure from predators. To stop the negative population trend, urgent measures to improve habitat quality are required to increase the reproductive success of the Northern Lapwing. This is particularly critical in the context of the energy transition and the expansion of wind energy, as these developments potentially further deteriorate the lapwing’s habitat quality.
Against this backdrop, a project titled ‘Lapwing Conservation in Northern Germany – Implementation and Evaluation of Measures’ (KiNo) was launched to implement targeted conservation measures for the Lapwing. This six-year collaborative project will be funded until the end of February 2032 under the National Species Recovery Programme (nAHP) by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), utilizing funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). Twelve collaborative partners and eight cooperation partners from the federal states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein are currently working together.
Targeted conservation measures for the Northern Lapwing
As a specialized meadow bird, the Northern Lapwing relies on wet habitats, which play an essential role, particularly for rearing chicks. To optimize habitat quality, the project is implementing an extensive package of measures primarily aimed at improving water management, securing nesting sites, and increasing the structural diversity of the project areas.
Hydrological Optimization and Habitat Management
A central aspect is the restoration of a natural water balance. The corresponding measures include long-term rewetting strategies, such as raising the groundwater level by closing drainage systems, creating water scrapes (temporary shallow water zones) and mudflats, as well as widening drainage ditches to create wetlands. In some sub-projects, active irrigation of suitable grassland areas using solar pumps is also being carried out. To increase food availability in breeding areas, extensive grassland areas and flowering strips are being established. On arable land, so-called lapwing plots are used. These are temporary fallow areas, which are left uncultivated during the breeding season to ensure undisturbed nesting and foraging habitats. These steps are flanked by active clutch protection: to avoid losses caused by agricultural machinery, nesting sites are marked so that farmers can drive around them during cultivation. To counter the high pressure from predators (e.g., foxes and martens), passive predation management is applied, particularly through the fencing of clutches with mobile electric fences and the removal of woody plants or hedges.
Scientific Support and Monitoring
To evaluate the effectiveness of the measures and identify which approaches have the greatest positive impact on population and breeding success, the project is scientifically supported. In addition to standardized population and breeding success monitoring in the project areas, this includes a detailed analysis of space utilization. For this purpose, lapwings are equipped with GPS transmitters. Based on this data, it is verified which measures are particularly effective under which conditions, allowing protection strategies to be optimized during the project term.
Long-term Impact and Synergy Effects
In addition to the Northern Lapwing, other endangered meadow birds with similar habitat requirements such as the Curlew, Redshank, or Oystercatcher are also expected to benefit from these measures. Consequently, the measures are poised to contribute positively to the overall biodiversity of open landscapes. The created habitats will be permanently secured beyond the project term. The results will be published in (international) journals and presented at scientific conferences. At the conclusion of the project, a workshop is also planned as part of the Lapwing Protection Working Group (AG Kiebitzschutz) in Osnabrück. The collected GPS data will be used beyond the studies on space utilization in breeding areas for further, including international, questions regarding migration ecology. The project thus makes a dual contribution: it upgrades breeding habitats through targeted management measures and simultaneously deepens the ecological understanding of the species. This acquired knowledge forms an essential basis for the further development of sustainable protection strategies. Thus, both the implemented measures and the findings contribute significantly to the protection of the Northern Lapwing in Germany.
Contact details:
Steffen Kämpfer
steffen.kaempfer@uos.de
Published: 09 / 2026