{"id":25393,"title":"The Decline of The Lapwing","description":"Of all the birds I\u2019ve drawn and gently referenced the lapwing is one that evokes an almost painful sense of melancholia. As a child I was a little passenger on the way to Torquay, a witness to flocks of lapwings undulating over moving fields, a prelude to a reunion...","content":"

\"pd2291v8tmfrm8fx6dhbcnyebjb60ewg3hy0iy9zk71c4alr.jpg\"Above, The lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) drawn and gently referenced by Paul Harfleet.<\/em><\/p>

Of all the birds I\u2019ve drawn and gently referenced the lapwing is one that evokes an almost painful sense of melancholia. As a child I was a little passenger on the way to Torquay, a witness to flocks of lapwings undulating over moving fields, a prelude to a reunion with Grandad and his wife, Jenny. They were a beloved pairing and nurtured my love of birds more than any, I treasured that then and now, long after their passing. They have gone, and so it seems has the lapwing. Decades later, occasional trips across the country reveal their ever dwindling numbers. I wanted to mark their place in my history when I first drew the lapwing for my book, Pansy Boy<\/u><\/a>, they were an intentional choice to illustrate my love of birds, the view intended to echo those fields of my childhood.<\/p>

\u201cAs birds flew by, he learned to love, kestrel, lapwing, collared dove\u201d<\/h3>

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