The first lapwing egg of the province was found in Heiloo today. A nest with two lapwing eggs has been spotted on a grassland along the Kanaaldijk. The discovery of the first lapwing egg symbolically heralded the beginning of spring.
Meadow bird researcher Wim Tijsen received a call today from Michel Mannes from Heiloo with the news. He decided to set off immediately to check whether it really concerns the first lapwing eggs.
That control is important, says Tijsen. “It’s a bit of a competition every year,” he explains. “In the past we have had people take an egg out of the freezer. That’s why we always check this.”
This is checked with a bucket of water. Once the eggs sink into the water and lie completely flat, they are fresh. And that was also the case with these found lapwing eggs. Tijsen expects them to hatch in about four weeks.
Nest by the ditch
According to the meadow bird researcher, the young of the new lapwing family are promising. The nest is built on the edge of a wet ditch. “The young lapwings can easily eat the insects they need in such an environment,” says Tijsen.
The two eggs were found by Michel Mannes, who also found the province’s first lapwing egg in 2016 and 2017. He himself is a bit disappointed that he hadn’t noticed it just a little earlier. “I even think that if I had looked on Friday, there was already one egg in the nest. Then I would have been the first.”