From Emma Birtwistle
Curlew Conservation Programme in Ireland Curlew are vulnerable ground nesting birds
C
urlew are beautiful birds that have played a significant role in Ireland's heritage being represented in place names, storytelling, poetry, music, coinage and folk lore. They are a large wader with greyish brown colouring with dark streaking standing tall on long bluish legs with a majestic long down curved bill, their call is evocative and easily recognisable. Concerns have been growing about the Curlew’s survival – in the late 1980s, between 3,300 and 5,500 pairs were estimated to have been breeding – today that is believed to be no more than 150. This represents a decline of at least 96 per cent. This decline is due to multifaceted pressures such as changing land use and agricultural practices, afforestation, land fragmentation, industrial peat harvesting, a decline in invertebrates and predation. In 2016, wader bird ecologist Dr Alan Lauder calculated that without action, the species could die out as a breeder by 2026. The Curlew Conservation Programme (CCP) was established in
2017 by the National Parks and \wildlife Service (NPWS). It is now a partnership programme involving both the NPWS (of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This conservation work is deemed essential even under level five lockdown because Ireland's breeding Curlew are in desperate need of protection if they are to be saved from extinction. Within the framework and structure of the CCP, there is an emphasis on local – with local teams engaging with local landowners and communities to apply relevant measures at a local level. These Curlew Action Teams (CATs) search out and protect nesting areas and, critically, engage with landowners and local communities on their importance to the survival of Ireland's Curlew. The programme has focussed on the most important strongholds in Ireland for breeding Curlew with nine Curlew Action Teams working in the Stack’s Mountains in Kerry, Lough Ree, Roscommon and Mayo, Leitrim, Monaghan, Donegal, Lough Corrib,
Laois and Kildare, Slieve Aughties. Last year, 42 breeding pairs were confirmed, of which at least 26 reached hatching stage with a minimum of 57 chicks hatched. At least 14 pairs produced fledglings, putting the breeding success rate at a minimum of 33 per cent.
Curlew Action Teams 1. Stack’s Mountains 2. Lough Rea 3. North Roscommon-East Mayo 4. Leitrim 5. North Monaghan 6. Donegal 7. Lough Corrib 8. Slieve Aughties 9. Laois-Kildare
Curlew Conservation is taking place across 9 Areas
Irish Country Sports and Country Life Winter 2021
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