Census Results of the Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus, Charadriformes) in the Olonets Fields, Karelia, Northwestern Russia, in 1993–2023

In the period 1993–2023, a census of the northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus (Linnaeus 1758), was conducted in the fields in the vicinity of the town of Olonets, southern Karelia, northwestern Russia. This communication reports the census data and the results of monitoring of the numbers of transient and breeding individuals performed using a uniform methodology in the period 1997–2019 and 2023. During the study period, between 450 and 3500 individuals were estimated to have migrated over the Olonets fields. The breeding population of the Olonets fields varied between 170 and 710 pairs per year. The years of monitoring revealed no significant changes in the numbers of lapwings, either breeding or transient. The northern lapwing population level was found not to be affected by either the local weather conditions or the extent of field use. There was also no significant correlation found between the abundance of lapwings and that of the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis (Bechstein 1803), a species that has seen a significant increase in its abundance over the years of monitoring.