Nearly 40 hectares of farmland adjoining the RSPB reserve at Exminster Marshes has been acquired by the charity to restore wet grass land as a vital lapwing breeding area with the support of a grant from the Naional Lottery Heritage Fund.
The project increases the size of the reserve by one third, making more room for birds such as lapwing and hopefully, cirl bunting, to breed, as well as providing new opportunities for people to experience this wildlife reserve.
Although lapwings, or peewits, are common winter visitors across South West farmland, the breeding population in Devon is estimated to be in the region of just 35-50 breeding pairs.
In l977 there were more than 500 pairs, but by l985 this number had fallen to fewer than 300.
RSPB Exminster Marshes warden Malcolm Davies said: 'The Lottery grant will allow us to restore the wet conditions that lapwings and other wading birds need to thrive.
'We have ben working hard to provide the right conditions for nesting lapwings on the reserve for more than a decade; this new land means that we will be supporting over half the remaining breeding population in Devon.
'In the lowlands, lapwings prefer to nest on damp pastures or spring-sown arable fields, though there are still a few pairs left on DArtmoor.
'It's hard to pinpoint exactly what has caused the massive decline in Devon, though the general loss of wet grasslands is a factor.,'
Mr Davies said the RSPB would be cultivating the fields before next month and creating a series of shallow 'scrapes' on the ground to allow the young birds to feed on insects attracted to wet mud.
'The biggest threat to a chick's survival is predation by foxes, trampling by stock or poorly-timed farming activity.'
The RSPB launched Operation Lapwing last year to highlight the rapid decline of the species, and also provides advice on suitable management practice.