We have lapwings. Or we did. Our neighbours have just staged a massive "tidy up", so now, who knows?
We're just down the road from you, on the North Wessex Downs, but no one is remotely interested in our intense and beautiful wildlife population, because we're just tenants, just ten acres, and not part of one of the “clusters”.
We've been farming ‘regeneratively’ and for wildlife for 25 years, since before most people had heard the word, and no one gives a fig.
Ah, that sounds wonderful and frustrating in equal measure Jackie! Ten acres absolutely counts, and it’s so often the smaller, cared-for patches that hold the most life. I’d love to know where you are on the North Wessex Downs. I facilitate one of the farm clusters here, and we really do welcome all shapes and sizes. It’s those small but mighty places that often keep the lapwings (and everything else!) hanging on. 🌿
At my childhood home we used to get lapwings visiting every winter. One year we didn't which I thought very strange, then later realised why – my mum used to keep horses, and their grazing and the wet weather offered the birds the kind of habitat you mentioned. When mum decided to let go of riding and the horses for good, the lapwings never came back.
Later in life that reiterated to me why things like conservation grazing is so important.
Thanks Hugh, that’s a perfect example of how closely tied they are to how we use land. Horses, cattle, sheep… all those small, everyday choices in grazing and management shape whole ecosystems. Conservation grazing really does keep those relationships alive.
We have lapwings. Or we did. Our neighbours have just staged a massive "tidy up", so now, who knows?
We're just down the road from you, on the North Wessex Downs, but no one is remotely interested in our intense and beautiful wildlife population, because we're just tenants, just ten acres, and not part of one of the “clusters”.
We've been farming ‘regeneratively’ and for wildlife for 25 years, since before most people had heard the word, and no one gives a fig.
Oh well. The birds still love us!
Ah, that sounds wonderful and frustrating in equal measure Jackie! Ten acres absolutely counts, and it’s so often the smaller, cared-for patches that hold the most life. I’d love to know where you are on the North Wessex Downs. I facilitate one of the farm clusters here, and we really do welcome all shapes and sizes. It’s those small but mighty places that often keep the lapwings (and everything else!) hanging on. 🌿
I'll message you!
At my childhood home we used to get lapwings visiting every winter. One year we didn't which I thought very strange, then later realised why – my mum used to keep horses, and their grazing and the wet weather offered the birds the kind of habitat you mentioned. When mum decided to let go of riding and the horses for good, the lapwings never came back.
Later in life that reiterated to me why things like conservation grazing is so important.
Thanks Hugh, that’s a perfect example of how closely tied they are to how we use land. Horses, cattle, sheep… all those small, everyday choices in grazing and management shape whole ecosystems. Conservation grazing really does keep those relationships alive.