'Curlew Calls' for help

There has in recent years been a growing realisation that, in northwest Europe (and in other parts of the world too), numbers of the Eurasian Curlew have fallen drastically. This has led to the inclusion of the species (with all three of its subspecies) on the IUCN Global Red List, in the Near Threatened Category , and to the adoption in November 2015, under the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, of an International Single Species Action Plan for Curlew. The principal reasons for the decrease are thought to be poor chick productivity, caused by loss of habitat, predation, and disturbance to the breeding grounds.

Within the United Kingdom and Ireland a UK and Ireland Curlew Action Group has been established (Curlew Calls), to monitor and study breeding birds with a view to reversing the downward population trend. This has led to series of workshops with the intention of raising the profile of the Curlew and the need for their conservation, and on September 27^th the Curlew Calls forum will be hosting their 4^th workshop, an all-scotland event, in Perth.

Their mission statement reads,

“Our goal is to work with farmers and land managers to reverse the current decline, and continue monitoring the status of, breeding Curlew across southern and lowland England. We will do this by sharing knowledge and experience, raising awareness, offering advice, and securing funding to implement effective conservation measures.”

The workshop will be held at the Battleby conference Centre, and is supported by major organisations such as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The workshop will bring together a range of people to discuss the future of Curlew in Scotland, as numbers have dropped in Scotland by about 60% over the last 20 years. 

The meeting consists of a morning of short talks on the issues the birds are facing in Scotland followed by discussion groups to formulate solutions. Curlew Calls particularly want to hear from a Scottish Farmer on the issues of nature conservation and the pressures farmers face at the conference, and are asking for anyone interested to please step forward.

If you think you can help, or know someone who can, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@ruralnetwork.scot

And you can register for the event here.