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The lapwing is a wading bird that returns to the Peak District each summer to nest. It is recognisable because of the unusual crest on its head and its broad rounded wings. Locally it is known as the ‘pee-wit’ due to its distinctive call. In a good habitat, lapwings nest in loose colonies where the birds act collectively to drive off predators such as crows. The eggs are laid in shallow scrapes on the ground, in an area of short vegetation. They prefer to nest on pasture fields but sometimes breed in areas of burnt heather on the moorlands, and even in traditional hay meadows. Over the last 30 years lowland breeding populations have collapsed, largely due to agricultural intensification. Between 1987 and 1998 the breeding lapwing population in England and Wales declined by 47%. The bulk of England’s breeding population is now restricted to the uplands, and to just isolated pockets in the Peak District, with an estimated 7-800 pairs remaining here.
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