A report on our nine-year upland predation experiment in Northumberland, which looks at the effect of predator control on upland waders. We show that reducing numbers of carrion crows and foxes signifcantly improves the breeding success of lapwing, curlew and golden plover. Populations of these waders tended to decline where there was no predator control. The report highlights the importance of grouse moors for conserving waders in the uplands and suggests that controlling of common predators like foxes and carrion crows might be necessary to protect ground-nesting waders elsewhere.
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