Northern Ireland's breeding waders, curlew, snipe and lapwing (peewit) will be beginning to settle now in preparation for the nesting season.

Breeding waders nest on simple scrapes on the ground, and it is important to adjust your farm management to protect them during the breeding season. Nests on the ground can easily be damaged by heavy grazing and field operations.

If you have a breeding wader option under the Countryside Management Scheme (CMS) or Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme (ESA) on your farm, you will already have been grazing down the sward over winter in preparation for the breeding season.

Grazing required over the next few months will differ depending on the breeding wader option. Lapwings like to maintain an open aspect from the nest so grazing throughout the breeding season to keep sward height low is preferred. Curlew and snipe will manage with lighter grazing or no grazing during the nesting season.

Have a look at your CMS or ESA scheme agreement map and check your breeding wader option management prescriptions. This will set the dates between which you must either stop grazing altogether or restrict your grazing in order to protect breeding wader nests.

Following the end of the breeding season your stocking density will then revert back to normal to allow for grazing down the sward over the autumn and winter months. For further information on grazing sites for breeding waders, contact Countryside Management Branch staff at your local DARD office.