The Natural History & Conservation of the Eurasian Curlew in Britain
Most commonly seen along the UK coastline during winter months, the Eurasian curlew is Europe’s largest wading bird. Known regionally as ‘whaup’ in northern Scotland, ‘guilbneach’ in Gaelic-speaking areas, and ‘gylfinir’ in Wales, the curlew’s scientific name is Numenius arquata, referring to its most conspicuous physical feature - a long, down-curved bill (Numenius means ‘new moon’, while arquata refers to an archer’s bow).
Curlews feed in groups on tidal mudflats, salt marshes and nearby farmland. In spring, they migrate to their inland breeding grounds – mostly in upland areas – raising their chicks in areas of rough pasture, meadows, heather moorland and wetlands, before returning to coastal areas in the autumn. During the breeding season, male curlews deliver a loud and atmospheric ‘bubbling’ song, and carry out low, arcing display flights to attract mates and defend their territories. The curlew’s song is widely considered one of the most evocative sounds of the UK’s countryside and coast
International importance of UK population
There are around 58,500 pairs of breeding curlews in the UK – between 19 and 27 per cent of the global breeding population. During the winter, some of ‘our’ birds head to Ireland and France, while the UK receives an influx from Scandinavia and Finland, taking advantage of our comparatively milder weather. This sees curlew numbers here swell to around 150,000 birds.
Curlews are in trouble
Eurasian curlews breed across northern Europe and Russia, as far east as Lake Baikal. Unfortunately, national bird monitoring schemes show that breeding populations are declining sharply across much of their range. In 2008, curlews were deemed to be a global conservation concern and listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Among the UK’s nations, the problem is greatest in Northern Ireland, where there has been a decline of between 69 and 82% since the mid-1990s (curlews have disappeared from much of the rest of Ireland). Part of the reason for this sudden crash is that curlews are long-lived (up to twenty years or more), and after consecutive years of poor breeding success many adults are now dying off without young to replace them.
We should bear in mind that two of the three or four Western avian extinctions since that of the great auk in 1852 have been curlew species. Without intervention, regional or even national extinction of the Eurasian curlew is now a distinct possibility.
Curlew numbers have crashed by 48% in the UK since the mid-1990s
What’s the problem?
Curlews face many different threats from people, machinery and predators. A lot of research has gone into investigating curlew populations and reasons behind their declining numbers. Evidence to date suggests declines are largely due to poor breeding success, alongside the loss of their breeding grounds.
Like many wading birds, curlews lay their eggs in a nest on the ground – known as a ‘scrape’. The parents incubate the eggs for about four weeks, before the young leave the nest and roam around - mostly with their fathers - for a further month, until fledging. Studies from across Europe have found that in most cases, breeding pairs are failing to raise enough young to maintain stable populations.
Although the curlew crisis is now, in many cases the first seeds were sown in the post-war period, when farmers were encouraged to maximize their yields. Hedges were cut to enlarge fields, boggy areas were drained (reducing the number of invertebrates that curlews and their chicks feed upon), and other crucial wildlife habitats lost in order to accommodate greater productivity. Since curlews tend to be site faithful, some farmers continued to see a slowly dwindling number of adults, even though these birds were consistently failing to raise chicks. When the adults died, the scale of the problem became apparent.
Egg predation by mammals and birds - particularly foxes and crows - has emerged as a key factor behind the curlew’s poor breeding success. Chicks that escape predation often face further danger from machinery, when fields are mowed for silage (increased production of silage in recent decades means that farmer’s fields are being cut more frequently and earlier in the season than they would have been in the past). While changes in land use, such as large-scale grassland improvement, forestry and changes in grazing pressure can lead to loss and fragmentation of breeding habitat, it’s vital to point out that farming in general is essential to maintaining the mosaic of grassland and wetland habitats that curlews need.
The RSPB, along with the UK’s statutory nature conservation agencies, believe the curlew should now be considered the UK’s highest conservation priority bird species and a recovery programme is urgently required. The curlew’s feeding habits aid the stability of mudflats, help with carbon capture, and offer protection from erosion and flooding. Since they are an ‘umbrella species’, conserving and managing the mosaic of habitats required by breeding curlews is also likely to benefit a wide range of other flora and fauna.
Key Curlew Conservation Initiatives
RSPB Curlew Recovery Programme
The RSPB’s main programme for curlews raises awareness of the curlew's plight to build support for conservation. It’s also developing an understanding of the management practices required to reverse curlew population declines across the landscape through the implementation of a trial management study. Finally it’s working with others, especially land managers and statutory nature conservation bodies to target conservation efforts across the curlew's range.
‘Curlews in Crisis’ is a four-year LIFE Nature project managed by the RSPB. Working closely with project partners, the aim is to stabilise curlew breeding populations within five priority landscapes across the four countries of the UK by improving breeding habitat conditions.
Dedicated charity supporting curlew conservation across the UK, Ireland and beyond, by providing practical help, raising awareness, increasing natural history education and by building the relationships needed to give curlews a future.
The Curlew Recovery Partnership is a new initiative for curlews in England, bringing together all those with an interest in curlew conservation, including land managers, farmers, gamekeepers, policymakers and researchers.
WWT Eurasian Curlew Recovery
The WWT are working with farmers, landowners, conservationists and communities to improve the curlews’ chances.
Based in the Shropshire Hills and Powys borders, Curlew Country works in close local partnership with land managers, volunteers and the wider community to achieve success for curlews.