This blog provides a summary of the GWCT's ‘Conserving the Curlew’ guide.
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Introduction
The Eurasian curlew, with its distinctive, evocative call, once thrived in the UK, its presence a familiar part of the landscape. Today, this iconic bird is facing a stark decline, earning the unfortunate title of the UK's most pressing bird conservation priority. The curlew population has halved in the last 25 years, and without immediate action, we risk losing this species from the UK. The UK holds a significant portion of the world's curlew population, especially during breeding and overwintering. This makes our conservation efforts critical to the species' global survival.
Understanding the Curlew's Plight
Rapid decline: The number of breeding curlew in the UK has decreased by half in the last 25 years.
Red List Status: The Eurasian curlew was added to the UK's red list in December 2015, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Global Importance: The UK is home to a substantial portion of the global curlew population, especially during breeding and overwintering.
Low Breeding Success: Research indicates that the primary driver of curlew decline is low breeding success, not adult survival rates.
Key Conservation Actions
To reverse the decline of the curlew, conservation efforts must focus on improving breeding success.
1. Habitat Management
Creating Ideal Breeding Habitat: Curlews thrive in areas with wet feeding grounds and drier nesting spots, characterized by mixed, medium-length vegetation, and minimal disturbance. Ideal breeding sites have wet areas for feeding and dry areas for nesting, with a mixed but medium length vegetation structure and little disturbance.
Lowland Wet Grassland: These areas, along with in-bye land and rough grazing on moorland edges, are particularly important. Traditional management practices like grazing by sheep or cattle, with livestock exclusion during spring and summer for cutting, can create optimal conditions. Traditional management of these meadows and pastures consisted of grazing by sheep or cattle, with livestock exclusion during the spring and summer for cutting, perhaps with limited application of lime or manure.
Combating Habitat Loss: Modern agricultural practices, such as drainage, fertilization, and grass reseeding, have degraded curlew habitats. These practices reduce plant diversity, leading to fewer food sources for curlews. The drier, more even grassland produced by this has fewer species of plants, leading to lower numbers and diversity of food species for curlew, such as insects and earthworms.
Moorland Fringe Management: Increased sheep grazing and management of the transition zone between moorland and farmland have also contributed to curlew decline. The increased management of this transition zone between moorland and farmland has contributed to substantial losses in both the number of breeding curlew and their breeding success in these areas in recent decades.
Practical Steps:
Maintain Wet Pastures: Preserve lowland wet pastures by avoiding drainage and excessive fertilization. Maintenance of suitable breeding habitat is a critical starting point.
Control Grazing: Implement controlled grazing regimes that mimic traditional practices, allowing for varied vegetation structure.
Heather Management: Manage heather to create patches of suitable length on moorland.
Sensitive Farming Practices: Adopt farming approaches for in-bye land that are sensitive to the needs of breeding waders. The challenge is to balance conservation with profitable farming at the hill edge, including adopting farming approaches for inbye land that are sensitive to the needs of breeding waders.
2. Predator Control
High Predation Levels: Predation is a significant threat to curlew breeding success, with increased predation rates on nests.
Increased Predation: One study showed a rise in predation from 16% to 65% of curlew nests per year across Europe between pre-1980 and 1996-2006.
Key Predators: Foxes and crows are major predators of curlew nests and chicks.
Benefits of Predator Control: Predator control on moorland has been shown to significantly improve curlew breeding success. When predators were controlled, curlew bred three times more successfully than on the same moorland when predator control was withdrawn.
Practical Steps:
Implement Predator Control: Conduct legal predator control, especially during the breeding season, targeting foxes and crows. Predator control on moorland can benefit curlew and other waders nesting on the moor, as well as on the nearby rough grazing and farmland.
Consider Exclusion Fencing: Use exclusion fencing to protect nesting sites from predators.
Extend Predator Control: If you run a shoot and perform predator control, extend this to include the curlew breeding season. If you run a shoot and perform predator control in summer, consider extending this to include the curlew breeding season.
3. Minimizing Agricultural Disturbance
Nest Destruction: Curlew nests in farmland are vulnerable to accidental destruction by agricultural machinery or livestock.
Breeding Season Sensitivity: Agricultural operations during the breeding season can destroy nests or cause abandonment due to disturbance.
Practical Steps:
Avoid Disturbance: Refrain from cutting, rolling, or excessive stocking between mid-April and mid-July in areas with nesting curlews. If you have nesting curlew, avoid cutting, rolling or excessive stocking between mid April and mid July.
Mowing Techniques: When mowing, cut from the inside out to allow chicks to escape through unmown grass. When you do mow, cut from the inside out, to allow chicks the chance to escape the machinery through un-mown grass.
4. Habitat Restoration
Habitat Loss Impact: Habitat loss in lowlands and in-bye land has restricted curlew populations to uplands, though these populations are also declining.
Lowland Recovery: Encouraging recovery in lowland areas, where curlews historically bred, is possible with targeted conservation. As curlew bred historically in the lowlands in the UK, and continue to do so in many European countries it may be possible to encourage a recovery here for the lowland curlew population.
Increasing Populations: Some lowland areas show increasing, albeit small, curlew populations, demonstrating the potential for recovery.
Practical Steps:
Restore Wet Grassland: Focus on restoring lowland wet grassland, farmland, and meadows.
Implement Conservation Measures: Farmers and land managers can take conservation steps to preserve and support breeding curlews. Conservation steps taken by farmers and land managers in lowland wet grassland, farmland and meadows may have the potential to preserve and support breeding curlew here.
5. Monitoring and Data Collection
Importance of Monitoring: Monitoring curlew nests and breeding success is crucial for effective conservation.
Understanding Limiting Factors: Identifying factors limiting breeding success is essential for targeted interventions.
Practical Steps:
Report Curlew Sightings: Report curlew sightings, nesting locations, and breeding success to conservation organizations.
Share Information: Share knowledge about changes in curlew populations and potential limiting factors.
Breeding Curlew: Understanding Their Needs
To effectively conserve curlews, it's essential to understand their breeding behavior and habitat requirements.
Nesting Period: Curlews typically nest between April and July.
Pair Fidelity: They are pair-faithful and return to the same site year after year. Curlew return to the same area to nest in year on year, so these measures can be beneficial for many years.
Nest Location: Nests are usually on flat ground, drier than surrounding foraging areas, and away from trees or shrubs.
Nest Structure: Nests are shallow cups in the grass, with surrounding grass about 20-30 cm high to conceal the sitting bird.
Breeding Behaviour: When nesting, curlew are territorial and very secretive.
Incubation: Eggs are usually laid by the first week of May, with up to four eggs per clutch. Incubation takes about four weeks and is shared by both adults.
Fledging: Chicks are mobile soon after hatching and fledge (learn to fly) between 32-38 days from hatching.
GWCT’s Upland Predation Experiment
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's (GWCT) Upland Predation Experiment provides compelling evidence for the effectiveness of predator control in curlew conservation.
Without Predator Control: Only 15% of nesting curlew pairs fledged young, and the curlew population declined by 17% per year.
With Legal Predator Control: 51% of nesting curlew pairs fledged young, and the curlew population increased by 14% per year.
Population Turnaround: This demonstrates that predator control can reverse population decline.
Grouse Moors as Refuges
Higher Breeding Success: Curlew breeding success is higher on grouse moors compared to non-grouse moors.
Effective Management: Management undertaken on grouse moors may make them a refuge for breeding curlews.
Comparative Studies: Studies consistently show a higher density of curlew breeding on grouse moors.
Financial Support and Advisory Services
Agri-Environment Schemes: Financial support is available through Agri-Environment schemes for conservation measures benefiting breeding waders.
Available Options: Options include management of wet grassland, low input grassland, and hay making supplements.
GWCT Advisory Service: The GWCT advisory team offers guidance on managing land for curlew, including site-specific advice.
Practical Steps:
Apply for Financial Support: Explore Agri-Environment schemes to fund conservation measures.
Contact GWCT Advisory Service: Seek advice from the GWCT advisory team for tailored land management strategies.
Balancing Conservation and Farming
Achieving curlew conservation alongside economically successful farming is possible through scientific knowledge. By integrating conservation practices into farming operations, it’s possible to support curlew populations while maintaining productive land. The challenge is to balance conservation with profitable farming at the hill edge, including adopting farming approaches for inbye land that are sensitive to the needs of breeding waders.
What This Means for Curlew Conservation
Habitat Protection/Restoration: This is critical for curlew recovery.
Low Predation Pressure: Maximizes the chance of curlew recovery.
Long-Term Commitment: Curlew conservation and recovery is a long term commitment.
Conclusion
The decline of the curlew is a call to action. By understanding the threats they face and implementing targeted conservation measures, we can ensure that the song of the moors continues to resonate for generations to come. Habitat protection, predator control, and minimizing disturbance are key to reversing the decline.
Every action counts. Whether you're a land manager implementing habitat improvements, a gamekeeper conducting predator control, or simply someone spreading awareness, your
contribution can make a significant impact.