Management help and scientific studies

Management Documents

Please take a look at the resources below for information and advice on practical management techniques for breeding waders and predator management.

GWCT Advisory Service Management Fact Sheets

 This page is regularly updated with summary guides produced by GWCT on a broad range of topics including many of relevance to breeding waders and legal predator management, such as Camera Trapping for Game and Wildlife, Code of Good Shooting Practice and Fox Snaring Guidelines.

 RSPB Wet Grassland Practical Manual: Breeding Waders

 A useful practical manual on wet meadow restoration. Under LIFE Waders for Real we are working to update guidance and develop specific management plans for key sites in the valley.

Historic England - Conserving Historic Water Meadows

This guide provides advice to conservation groups, farmers, landowners, community projects or individuals undertaking work to restore historic water meadow sites. It demonstrates how if managed senestively these habitats can provide a variety of habitats and support willdife of conservation concern.

GWCT LIFE Waders For Real _Ditch Management _2 (small)

Reprofiling historic ditches, adding shallow edges promotes in-field wet areas and allows waders and their chicks to forage. 

 Scientific Papers

 The LIFE Waders for Real project aims to produce scientific papers from our research after project completion but for now here are recently published papers by other teams on breeding wader recovery.

  • Franks, S.E et al. 2018. Evaluating the effectiveness for conservation measures for European grassland-breeding waders. 8, 10555-10568. Click to view in full
  • Malpas, L.R et al. 2013. The use of predator-exclusion fencing as a management tool improves the breeding success of waders on lowland wet grassland. Journal for Nature Conservation. 21, 37 – 47. Click to view abstract
  • Mason, L.R et al. 2017. Tracking day and night provides insights into the relative importance of different wader chick predators. Ibis. 160, 71 – 88. Click to view in full
  • Eglinton, S.M et al. 2008. Restoration of wet features for breeding waders on lowland grassland. Journal of Applied Ecology. 45, 305 – 314. Click to view in full