The Mystical Curlew
It’s a misty evening somewhere on the coast. Or perhaps a long and winding estuary, so typical for the Essex coast. You walk around lost in thoughts, your eyes stretching along the vast mudflats exposed by the receding tide. Suddenly you hear a bubbling sound which feels hopeful and spirit- lifting yet at the same time somewhat haunting. You look around the mud and watch many little birds pecking at the soft ground. Hmmm… They don’t look like the source of that mysterious call. They make short, high-pitched sounds… Then, out of the mist walks a large creature with a very long, scythe like beak and you hear that soul gripping song again! There you are. So, who’s this mysterious beauty you just crossed paths with?
Congratulations, you met a curlew!
All About Curlews
Going by the full name of Eurasian Curlew (Numenius Arquata), this is not only one of the largest and most impressive birds on our coast but, sadly, one of the most endangered too. And its size and appeal have much to do with it.
While being a migratory species like most ‘shore birds’ (birds who live and breed along coasts and wetlands), in milder climates like ours, curlews stay all year round and are joined by their overseas cousins in winter. This makes Britain a global curlew stronghold with about a quarter of their global population situated on our little island!
While migrating, many curlews were, and some still are, shot by hunters in countries like France or the US, just as they used to be in the UK and Ireland until relatively recently (2012 in Ireland). Curlew recipes can still be found in some old cookbooks! Thankfully, the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement has been in place since 1996 and protects over 250 bird species from being hunted on their migration routes. This is great news for curlews, and should, in theory, have boosted their population numbers which started to dwindle at the beginning of 21st century. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Yes, we have protected migrating adults but failed to also secure their breeding habitats. As a result, we are facing rapid declines in chicks being born and reaching adulthood, particularly here in Britain, where our countryside underwent a dramatic change in the last 40 years. Since 1980s, England and Scotland have lost 60% of their curlews, while Wales and Ireland over 80% and 90% respectively.
But not all is lost (at least for now), although the scary E word (extinction) is still looming large over these beautiful birds, which were once an integral part of our landscape and the stuff on our collective imagination and sense of belonging.
Curlews in Culture – The Legend of St. Beuno
‘Headstarting’ Chicks
So, what does this mean, and more importantly how does it help curlew populations? Well, this is where we tell you some good news made by humans!
As mentioned above, the main issues faced by curlews (and other birds such as lapwings and black tailed godwits) is not the lack of adult birds- some live up to 20 years- but loss of breeding habitat. Peat cutting in the uplands, agricultural drainage, and sowing and harvesting winter crops means there aren’t many suitable places to lay eggs and safely raise chicks anymore. In the few places left, recreational disturbance and predation are making their already hard task that much harder. Just like our beach nesting birds, the curlews are being flushed from their nests by inquisitive dogs and off track walkers. This makes them very vulnerable to predators such as foxes and corvids who thrive near human settlements. In short, raising a new generation of curlews in the wild has become nigh impossible as things stand.
To buy them some time, and to avoid almost certain population crash followed by extinction, ornithologists and other bird enthusiasts decided to employ quite a daring conservation measure of indoor egg hatching and chick rearing called ‘headstarting’. They go out and collect eggs from nests in risk of predation and accidental trampling. These are then placed into incubators where they slowly rotate for even heat until they hatch. The newborns are then placed into a creche with a ‘brooder (heat lamp) for 5-6 days after which they’re whisked off into an outdoor pen where they frolic in a rich grassland full of insects and other delicacies for their growing snappy beaks. After about 10 weeks when they are fully fledged (grew fully functional flight feathers), the sides of the pen are lifted up and the youngsters are ‘softly’ released into the surrounding landscape. Ideally, this would coincide with arriving flocks of wild adult curlews who can show them the ropes and the way to the coast.
You can watch this magical moment on the Curlew Country’s YouTube video here.
Curlew Action – Headstarting Chicks
A Shared Responsibility
These valiant conservation efforts are not on their own capable of saving curlews from their troubles. Managing land in more sustainable ways, particularly farm fields and peat bogs is the only way forward. And it would not benefit curlews alone either; greater biodiversity, improved soil and water quality will follow. Predator fencing and control will also need to be part of future solutions, as well as public awareness and willingness to share the landscape with wildlife. Just like with our beach nesting and overwintering coastal birds, the perfect blending camouflage can be a curse when it comes to us, humans. We will need to become much more aware of our surroundings if we want wildlife to thrive along us in the ever shrinking space with so many challenges. Following signs on protected sites and our coastal code is a first step towards that goal.
-Lea
If you’d like to learn more about curlew protection, here are some fantastic organisations: