Recovering the Eurasian Curlew in the UK and Ireland: progress since 2015 and looking ahead

Author(s): Douglas, D.J.T., Brown, D., Cohen, S., Colwell, M., Donaghy, A., Drewitt, A., Finney, K., Franks, S., Heptinstall, D., Hilton, G., Kelly, S., Lindley, P., McCarthy, B., McCulloch, N., O’Donoghue, B., Sanders, S., Thompson, P. & Whitehead, S.

Published: June 2021 Pages: 10pp

Journal: British Birds Volume: 114

Work in 2015 identified Curlew as the UK's most pressing avian conservation priority. New research reviews progress since that time, both in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and concludes that there has been little change in this species' precarious status.

Abstract

In 2015, the Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata was described as the UK’s most pressing avian conservation priority. The population is also in severe decline in the Republic of Ireland. Since 2015, Curlew-focused research, conservation delivery and awareness-raising has expanded in the UK and the Ireland. Here, we present an assessment of progress so far in recovering the Curlew population in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Momentum is building but we are yet to see any wide-scale impact on breeding success that could translate into improved national trends or a reversing of the species’ status. Stabilising declines and recovering the Curlew population in the UK and the Republic of Ireland will be a longterm process, requiring concerted effort and massive investment, and the scale of the task should not be underestimated.

Staff Author(s)