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Northern Lapwing Nest Survival Was Lower in Alsace Than in Hauts-de-France

Northern Lapwing in France
Research · Reproduction & development

Northern Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) have declined across Europe for decades, and insufficient reproductive success is considered an important part of that decline. A two-year study of 145 nests in two agricultural regions of France found clear regional differences in nest survival. At least 66% of the monitored nests hatched successfully overall, but estimated survival was lower in inland Alsace than in coastal Hauts-de-France.

The researchers monitored nests during the 2021 and 2022 breeding seasons and tested how regional conditions, weather, farming and monitoring method related to daily nest survival. Agricultural machinery caused 11% of documented nest failures, abandonment accounted for 8.2% and predation for 7.5%. Losses to farm operations were more frequent in Alsace.

Weather and monitoring method also affected nest survival

Nest survival also varied with wind conditions and with whether nests were monitored by camera. The lowest survival occurred under low mean wind-speed conditions. For a full 27-day incubation period, the modelled probability of nest survival in Hauts-de-France was 66% for camera-monitored nests and 59% for nests monitored by visits only. In Alsace, the corresponding probabilities were 43% and just 0.7%. Camera deployment therefore was not a neutral monitoring detail: it was associated with substantially higher nest survival, especially in Alsace. The authors suggest that marking and repeated attention to camera nests may have reduced losses to agricultural operations, while there was no net increase in predation at camera nests. Rainfall and temperature were not retained among the strongest predictors of nest survival.

Mammals caused almost all identified predation

Where cameras identified predators, almost all recorded predation was by mammals. The authors recommend practical measures including marking nests and coordinating with farmers so machinery can avoid active nests, alongside targeted protection where mammalian predation is a major source of loss.

Sources and image credit

  1. Van den Berg, R. F., Sandercock, B. K., Le Bohec, C., & Nesterova, A. P. (2026). Effects of regional weather and agricultural practices on the nest survival of Northern Lapwings in France. Ecology and Evolution, 16(4), e73462. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73462Primary open-access research article published 17 April 2026 under CC BY 4.0. The study monitored 145 Northern Lapwing nests in Hauts-de-France and Alsace during 2021–2022. At least 66% of monitored nests hatched; nest survival was lower in Alsace. Agricultural machinery caused 11% of documented nest failures, abandonment 8.2% and predation 7.5%.

Image: Alexis Lours / Wikimedia Commons — Northern Lapwing photographed in Hauts-de-Seine, France, on 27 September 2025; representative French species image, not a bird from the 2021–2022 nest-survival study; cropped to 16:9. · CC BY 4.0 · Source

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