Curlew

Isambard

I read that there are conservation efforts being made to "save the Curlew"

I'm a bit confused as I seem to see loads of them in Cork and Kerry estuaries and also in my local turlough, 40 miles inland.

Am I misidentifying them? (Large wader with slightly curved long bill

Del.Monte

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Publications/eWings/eWingsIssue22July2011/CatastrophicCurlewdeclinesuncovered/tabid/1189/Default.aspx

Isambard

yes that's one of the things I've read.

OpenYourEyes

You're not misidentifying them Isambard. The birds you're seeing don't breed in Ireland - they breed in more northerly lattitudes (e.g. Iceland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Russia) and migrate here for the winter. We should, and used to have, a couple of thousands pairs of Curlew breeding in Ireland but we now have 150 pairs or less. So the catastrophic decline you're hearing about is the decline of our breeding population. Our wintering numbers are declining too, but not as rapidly.

Isambard

ah, gotcha....so I need to look out for them in the spring/ Summer to see native birds.

OpenYourEyes

Isambard wrote: »

ah, gotcha....so I need to look out for them in the spring/ Summer to see native birds.

Yeah, more so summer really, as these migrants could be with us until April. Around then we'll also have flocks of Whimbrel passing through, which look very similar but have shorter and less curved bills.

IrishHomer

Delighted to see my local breeding pair back for another season today. Lots of displaying going on. Must try and take photos/video