Curlew

brianfrancis45

Having never shot curlew myself I was just wondering if any of you have ever done so .

I know that there is very short season for them 1st -30th Nov and on one of my permisssions I regularly see a fair number of them coming in especially when the weather is bad. I've never bothered with them before and as the numbers I see around nowadays are nothing like the big numbers I saw say 10 or so years ago, if I did target them I think I would only take just the one for the pot, purely out of curiousity to see what they taste like.

So if any of ye have shot and eaten them, as I couldn't find anything on the internet, please let me know what is the best way to cook them and what do they taste like ?

Any comments/advice appreciated.

Thanks

marlin vs

I shot and ate two Curlew's over 30 year's ago to see what they tasted like, they were stink and I can still smell what they were like they absoutly stank out the house,take it from me if you do try them you won't bother again.

DavyDee

I know a guy who used to shoot 20 or so years ago, his neighbour used to come in to his shed and take the ducks when they were hanging so he shot 2 cerlews one night, snipped the beaks and left them hanging, got up the next day and the birds were gone, a bird never went missing on him again !

Shoot2kill

DavyDee wrote: »

I know a guy who used to shoot 20 or so years ago, his neighbour used to come in to his shed and take the ducks when they were hanging so he shot 2 cerlews one night, snipped the beaks and left them hanging, got up the next day and the birds were gone, a bird never went missing on him again !

Brilliant!!:D

deerhunter1

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Having never shot curlew myself I was just wondering if any of you have ever done so .

I know that there is very short season for them 1st -30th Nov and on one of my permisssions I regularly see a fair number of them coming in especially when the weather is bad. I've never bothered with them before and as the numbers I see around nowadays are nothing like the big numbers I saw say 10 or so years ago, if I did target them I think I would only take just the one for the pot, purely out of curiousity to see what they taste like.

So if any of ye have shot and eaten them, as I couldn't find anything on the internet, please let me know what is the best way to cook them and what do they taste like ?

Any comments/advice appreciated.

Thanks

I believe they are good in a casserole/stew

Birdnuts

deerhunter1 wrote: »

I believe they are good in a casserole/stew

I remember reading somewhere that they were popular for the pot during Tudor times:)

johnner1

i shot one about 15 years ago, gave it to a shooting friend of mine he ate it and said it was not far off been like pigeon.

brianfrancis45

marlin vs wrote: »

I shot and ate two Curlew's over 30 year's ago to see what they tasted like, they were stink and I can still smell what they were like they absoutly stank out the house,take it from me if you do try them you won't bother again.

Thanks Marlin and to all others who replied. I think I'll leave them be so !

Eddie B

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Thanks Marlin and to all others who replied. I think I'll leave them be so !

A now, don't let those posts put ya off!:D

Anyone i've asked who has tried curlew told me they were lovely including my father!
For years now i've said i was goona give it a go, so if i do i,ll let ya know what it's like!;)

DavyDee

No more than anything the taste of them can depend on what their feeding on!

Birdnuts

DavyDee wrote: »

No more than anything the taste of them can depend on what their feeding on!

Indeed - the best feeding on many mudflats where Curlew tend to hang out in large numbers is often near sewage outflows:eek:;)

Double Barrel

As Eddie & DavyDee wrote, how they taste will depend on their diet, if they are eating along the shore in salt or briny water they will taste fishy or more like a mud flat that does not get well flushed out, but if they are on a snipe - woodcock diet for a time well .... they taste better.

mallards

I shot one three years ago in a gale, made for a very sporting shot. They're are plenty of curlew where I shoot ducks in the north. I even have them breeding on the bog at home but they are of the quarry list up north from this year.




Mallards

johngalway

Nice photo Mallards, plenty of curlew here as well.

brianfrancis45

Thanks for all the replies and must admit was tempted to shoot one for the pot, more out of curiosity than anything else. However, having read the arcticle below in the Irish Examiner, have decided to leave them be as it seems that they are nothing like as plentiful as they once were , which to be honest is also my experience as I used to see big flocks of them on one of my permissions say 10-15 years or so ago and whilst there are still a good few coming in to the bog there, its nothing like the numbers there used to be.


The haunting cry of the curlew may disappear from the Irish countryside’
By Lynne Kelleher

Saturday, October 16, 2010

The haunting cry of the curlew is known as the sound of the Irish countryside but the bird is now in danger of becoming extinct in Ireland.

The two-note call of the beautiful wading bird has been the soundtrack to a string of Irish films but now experts believe they could be completely wiped due to their natural wetland nesting grounds disappearing.

Birdwatch Ireland has released unpublished figures which show how the bird’s numbers have suffered a catastrophic crash of over 12,000 pairs in 1990 to just a few hundred pairs today.

Development officer with Birdwatch Ireland Niall Hatch said he was shocked when he realised the dramatic drop in the numbers while compiling the yet-to-be released Bird Atlas.

He said: "If something isn’t done this bird will be gone from Ireland in a decade. It is extremely shocking. We have seen a catastrophic decline while looking at the statistics for the new Bird Atlas.

"It has spent the past two decades plummeting more rapidly than pretty much any other bird in Ireland.

"There is only very sporadic breeding now. The curlew has been added to the endangered list. It was once so common, such an abundant bird.

"It would be a crying shame to see such an evocative bird disappear form Ireland. It is the sound of the Irish countryside.

"The name of the bird comes from its call. It is a very haunting sound and the real sound of the Irish wilderness which has been in many films and documentaries. It is a distinctive creature with its long curved bill," he said.

The organisation is now appealing to the public to help raise €99,000 to help save the species in Ireland as part of the Cry of the Curlew Appeal.

The sharp decline was spotted by Birdwatch Ireland while compiling the Bird Atlas 2007-11, a four-year project to check on the numbers and distributions of the birds of Ireland and Britain, which will be published next year.

"In the last Atlas compiled from 1988 to 1991, there were at least 12,000 pairs, which is 24,000 individuals.

"It seemed very secure here 20 years ago. In biological terms, 20 years is just the blink of an eye. Now there are just a few hundred pairs left."

He said many birdwatchers may be unaware of the critical situation with curlews because there is an influx of wintering curlews to Ireland every year.

And he said despite the endangered nature of the wading birds hunting of this bird is still allowed. He said: "One of the bizarre things is it is a species that can be legally shot in Ireland. This is something which needs to be looked at and we are lobbying the Government to take the curlew off this list."

Huge changes in the uplands, such as the destruction of peat bogs, afforestation, more intensive management of farmland have all affected their breeding habitat.

In the lowlands, drainage of wetlands and intensive management of grasslands have destroyed much of their habitat.

He said: "Their nesting grounds are disappearing because of the mono-culture of silage and the fact that grass is shorter and there is more frequent mowing."

The fund will also devise ways of restoring their unique habitats, such as re-wetting upland areas, clearing them of gorse and scrub, and improving grazing management to benefit their breeding.

To donate to the Cry of the Curlew fund log on to www.birdwatchireland.ie.


This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, October 16, 2010

Birdnuts

brianfrancis45 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and must admit was tempted to shoot one for the pot, more out of curiosity than anything else. However, having read the arcticle below in the Irish Examiner, have decided to leave them be as it seems that they are nothing like as plentiful as they once were , which to be honest is also my experience as I used to see big flocks of them on one of my permissions say 10-15 years or so ago and whilst there are still a good few coming in to the bog there, its nothing like the numbers there used to be.


The haunting cry of the curlew may disappear from the Irish countryside’
By Lynne Kelleher

Saturday, October 16, 2010

The haunting cry of the curlew is known as the sound of the Irish countryside but the bird is now in danger of becoming extinct in Ireland.

The two-note call of the beautiful wading bird has been the soundtrack to a string of Irish films but now experts believe they could be completely wiped due to their natural wetland nesting grounds disappearing.

Birdwatch Ireland has released unpublished figures which show how the bird’s numbers have suffered a catastrophic crash of over 12,000 pairs in 1990 to just a few hundred pairs today.

Development officer with Birdwatch Ireland Niall Hatch said he was shocked when he realised the dramatic drop in the numbers while compiling the yet-to-be released Bird Atlas.

He said: "If something isn’t done this bird will be gone from Ireland in a decade. It is extremely shocking. We have seen a catastrophic decline while looking at the statistics for the new Bird Atlas.

"It has spent the past two decades plummeting more rapidly than pretty much any other bird in Ireland.

"There is only very sporadic breeding now. The curlew has been added to the endangered list. It was once so common, such an abundant bird.

"It would be a crying shame to see such an evocative bird disappear form Ireland. It is the sound of the Irish countryside.

"The name of the bird comes from its call. It is a very haunting sound and the real sound of the Irish wilderness which has been in many films and documentaries. It is a distinctive creature with its long curved bill," he said.

The organisation is now appealing to the public to help raise €99,000 to help save the species in Ireland as part of the Cry of the Curlew Appeal.

The sharp decline was spotted by Birdwatch Ireland while compiling the Bird Atlas 2007-11, a four-year project to check on the numbers and distributions of the birds of Ireland and Britain, which will be published next year.

"In the last Atlas compiled from 1988 to 1991, there were at least 12,000 pairs, which is 24,000 individuals.

"It seemed very secure here 20 years ago. In biological terms, 20 years is just the blink of an eye. Now there are just a few hundred pairs left."

He said many birdwatchers may be unaware of the critical situation with curlews because there is an influx of wintering curlews to Ireland every year.

And he said despite the endangered nature of the wading birds hunting of this bird is still allowed. He said: "One of the bizarre things is it is a species that can be legally shot in Ireland. This is something which needs to be looked at and we are lobbying the Government to take the curlew off this list."

Huge changes in the uplands, such as the destruction of peat bogs, afforestation, more intensive management of farmland have all affected their breeding habitat.

In the lowlands, drainage of wetlands and intensive management of grasslands have destroyed much of their habitat.

He said: "Their nesting grounds are disappearing because of the mono-culture of silage and the fact that grass is shorter and there is more frequent mowing."

The fund will also devise ways of restoring their unique habitats, such as re-wetting upland areas, clearing them of gorse and scrub, and improving grazing management to benefit their breeding.

To donate to the Cry of the Curlew fund log on to www.birdwatchireland.ie.


This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, October 16, 2010

Yeah - Pretty depressing stuff with the usual culprits to blame, same could be said of numerious other species including Golden Plover, Corncrake, Redshank etc.:(

LostCovey

mallards wrote: »

I shot one three years ago in a gale, made for a very sporting shot. They're are plenty of curlew where I shoot ducks in the north. I even have them breeding on the bog at home but they are of the quarry list up north from this year.




Mallards

That's not a Curlew, that is a Whimbrel.

LostCovey

jap gt

LostCovey wrote: »

That's not a Curlew, that is a Whimbrel.

LostCovey

isnt whimbrel a breed of curlew

Eddie B

LostCovey wrote: »

That's not a Curlew, that is a Whimbrel.


LostCovey

Well spotted LostCovey! So tell us, you thats in the know! What differences are there between the curlew and whimbrel in flight?

Tackleberrywho

Curlew

Whimbrel


Feck me pink, hard to call on looks, especially from upside down

Tackleberrywho

Birdnuts

Looks like a young Curlew to me

Feargal as Luimneach

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

A bad comparison there, the long billed curlew (Numenius americanus) is a different species to the Eurasian curlew ( Numenius arquata). The long billed curlew is not found in europe and also is quite differerent to our Curlew.

Tackleberrywho

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

A bad comparison there, the long billed curlew (Numenius americanus) is a different species to the Eurasian curlew ( Numenius arquata). The long billed curlew is not found in europe and also is quite differerent to our Curlew.

Be that as it may, it was the only comparison I could find.

I'd give Mallards the benefit of the doubt on this one.
The only curlews I know I drove over yesterdasy! (in Sligo):D

Cass

Some posts edited and others deleted.

Accusations or allegations against other users will not be tolerated. If you see a problem with a post use the report post button and let the mods deal with.

Remember this is a hunting forum. If you wish to discuss any bird species indepth please do so on the Nature and Bird Watching Forum.

Ez.

mallards

As someone who has Curlew breeding on their ground and is well used to seeing them all year round and try's his best to keep foxes or corvids from it's nest, It is a young curlew.
Pay attention to the pictures in the top right hand corners.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/whimbrel/index.aspx

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/curlew/index.aspx




Mallards

mallards

LostCovey wrote: »

That's not a Curlew, that is a Whimbrel.

LostCovey

Eh, it's a curlew

Mallards

Cass

Warning ignored, posts deleted, thread closed.