What they like

Open space. Short grass, moist soil, damp/puddly patches and a scruffy edge you can just see over. On farmyard and fields: make a damp strip, let ditches do their work, leave some areas unmown until later in the season. Leave dung pats and bare patches: there’s life in them.

Ecological importance

Feeds mainly on earthworms, insects and larvae. Exactly the soil snacks that also keep pastureland healthy. Chicks need a continuous buffet of small creatures; without herb-rich, moist grassland they won’t make it. Eggs and chicks are prey for foxes, crows and birds of prey—cover and quiet make the difference.

When in the Netherlands

Mainly a breeding bird February–July. In autumn and winter there are also passage migrants and winter visitors, depending on weather and water.

Status

Has declined sharply. Vulnerable as a breeding bird in agricultural areas.