The first lapwings have hatched

The first lapwings hatched last week in our project area Freesendorfer Wiesen. The meadows are part of the ‘Peenemünder Haken, Struck und Ruden’ nature reserve. Unfortunately, we have not been able to record any major breeding successes in recent years. The population size has remained more or less at the same level for years. However, the benefits of our work are gradually becoming apparent. Thanks to the incredibly great cooperation with one of the local farmers, large areas of the meadows have been in optimal condition since 2023. The breeding birds are more widely distributed as a result. But then the problem was that they no longer bred within the clutch protection fence and were more or less defenceless against the predators, and most of the breeding was aborted. The lapwings in particular moved to other areas. As a result, we have intensified predator management considerably since last year and have been surprised at how many predators are actually on the move in this area. So the breeding season should actually go well this year. We are still cautiously optimistic, because somehow you never know what won't fit next....crows, peregrine falcons,....