Peewit

Well that’s what us northerners call them anyway!

The name Peewit is an imitation of their very distinctive display call.

The proper name Lapwing describes their wavering flight.

We watched a couple of these as we drove across the moorland between Shap and Orton and witnessed both the display call and the wavering flight, as they wheeled about above us, accompanied by their piercing call, and then momentarily touched ground.

Unfortunately these birds have declined in number quite drastically in recent years, due mainly to changes in farming methods. In fact they are on the RSPB Red List. Although they spend most of the winter in farmland, they do like wet upland moorland for the breeding season. Well, that certainly describes the land around here!

We had a dull, dreary and quite wet day and then at 6pm, just as forecast, the sun broke through the cloud from the west. I have a number of pictures of this happening, but the Peewit was such a chance sighting and we both so delighted in watching them, this had to be the blip for today.

This isn’t a brilliant picture, but if you look large you can see that they are not black and white as you might think at first glance, but have an iridescent green and purple sheen.