Ominous decline in curlew and lapwing numbers 

Both these birds nest on farmland and boggy ground which might seem like a vulnerability — but scientists say new research shows that these nests can be an effective hiding place from predators

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) nest with four eggs

To the man and woman in the street, ‘godwit’ ‘dunlin’ and ‘turnstone’ are unfamiliar bird-names — although large numbers of these ‘waders’ descend on our wetlands in winter. Few people, other than wildfowlers and bird-watchers, frequent such lonely places, so these the presence of these birds doesn’t register with the public.

Just two ‘shorebirds’, the curlew and the lapwing, are well known. Both breed in Ireland. Boggy ground is the habitat of choice but some pairs nest on farmland.