Success story in Wauwilermoos: 88 Kiebitzen fly for the first time in 2025!

Success story in Wauwilermoos: 88 Kiebitzen fly for the first time in 2025!

in the Wauwilermoos, the largest Kiebitz colony in Switzerland, learned 88 Kiebitz boy this year. This represents the highest number of fledged lapwings in the past 20 years. An impressive balance sheet for the protection project of the Sempach bird station, because every second lapwing that will be fledged in Switzerland in 2025 comes from this area. In the region, 56 pairs of lapwing are currently breeding, which corresponds to more than a quarter of the entire breeding stock in Switzerland.

The Kiebitz is a strongly endangered bird species that in Switzerland after a dramatic decline in the 1970s, when at least a thousand breeding pairs still lived there, could now be preserved through intensive protection and support measures. In 2005, only 83 lapwing couples brooded all over Switzerland. Thanks to the commitment of the bird's eyewear, which started a special protection project around 20 years ago, the inventory has more than doubled since then. Around 200 pairs of lapwing are currently breeding in Switzerland.

protective measures and measures to maintain the living space

The protection strategy includes marking nests on meadows and fields to inform farmers, as well as fencing brood surfaces to protect the chicks from enemies such as the red fox. Since Kiebitzküken are nest refugees and are looking for food independently from the first day of life, they are particularly vulnerable, especially in the first weeks of life. In view of the dangers that consist of predators and agricultural management, these measures are of crucial importance.

Another important aspect of protective measures concerns the rewetting of areas in order to restore the habitat of the lapwings. These initiatives are implemented in close cooperation with farmers, authorities and volunteers. The breeding success is 1.0 fledged young birds per breeding pair, which is above the population -preserving value of 0.8.

successes in the Wauwilermoos

The breeding stocks at the Wauwil level show remarkable progress. From 15-25 breeding pairs in 2005, the number rose to 60 breeding pairs by 2015 and now commutes to around 40 breeding pairs. These positive developments reflect the joint effort of everyone involved and show how important the preservation of lapwings is for biodiversity in Switzerland.

The bird's eyewear assumes that the ongoing protection and funding measures are decisive for the preservation of this endangered species. Because, as the Sempach bird station emphasizes, changed habitats have to be converted into habitats that are suitable for Kiebitzen in order to ensure their continued existence in the long term. More information about the measures and their success can be found on the websites of nau.ch and Vogelwarte.ch .