Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Both Breeding & Non-breeding) [VU(br/nbr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Vanellus vanellus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Eng BBS Trend (25 yr -36%, 10 yr -16%). Eng WeBS trends (25 yr -46%, 10 yr -7%) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Requires targeted management and some research questions remain. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Generally requires specific habitat conditions in either wetland, upland or arable habitats |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Deploy management interventions to improve nest and chick survival through e.g., sward management, stocking levels, wet features, nest protection and arable management, at a sufficient scale.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Research to understand the drivers of high densities of generalist predators and how these can be addressed at a landscape scale to reduce mesopredator densities in the countryside.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: Links to general action to understand and reduce mesopredator densities in England landscapes.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Work with partners and stakeholders to ensure that the sensitivity of lapwing is taken into account when developing plans for new woodland creation and forestry planting projects.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Upland landscapes important for Lapwing
Comments: Need to get in place quickly to be prepared for increasing demand for renewable energy tree planting projects
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.