FISCHER HW (1991) Observations at nests of Tawny Pipits Anthus campestris on the Doornspijkse Heide in 1942 and 1943. LIMOSA 64 (4): 165-168.

On c. 150 ha ofthe Doornspijkse Heide (52° 22'N, 5° 47'E) six and five pairs of Tawny Pipits were recorded in 1942 and 1943 respectively. Two nests were only 32 m apart in 1943. On 20-28 June 1942 and 12-20 June 1943, nests with young Tawny Pipits were observed from a hide from sunrise to sunset. In both years, the first adult Tawny Pipit to feed the young was marked with some paint, enabling us to prove that the young were fed by one parent only. The sex of this bird remained unknown. Other adult Tawny Pipits were very rarely seen in the vicinity of the nest. Food was collected up to 150 m from the nest. The feeding bird approached the nest in flight and singing, the last 10m were run in a crouched position via a fixed route, uttering a soft iet-iet-iet. The young were fed with small Diptera, small caterpillars and moths. Per feeding bout, two or three young were fed. Almost invariably, faecal sacs were removed after each nest visit. During one hour around noon on 17 June 1943, the young were fed ten times, with three to thirteen minutes between visits (mean 5.8 min, sd 3.3 min). It is calculated that some 125 feeding visits per day are paid to the nest during the later nestling period. The young left the nest after ten days, while they were still unable to fly.

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