The late winter in 2013 may have set back recovery of the stone-curlew population in the Brecks by as much as eight years. Stone-curlews returning from southern Spain and north Africa in April, to their main stronghold in the UK, discovered too late that it was still winter. Unable to find enough of their usual diet of insects and earthworms in the freezing conditions, many stone-curlews died of starvation. Several dead stone-curlews were reported to, or found by, the RSPB stone-curlew project team, who have been working with farmers to protect these special birds since the mid 1980’s. It was a blow for the many people involved in stone-curlew conservation, who have worked hard to help the population recover from fewer than 100 pairs in the Brecks in 1985 to around 260 pairs in 2012.
The stone-curlew is a scarce ground nesting bird that is found in large arable fields or areas of open grassland with sparse vegetation and plenty of bare ground. Their brown plumage and habit of sitting very still makes them very hard to see, but if you are lucky enough to see one when it is active, they are very striking, with long yellow legs and big yellow eyes.
Around 20% fewer stone-curlews nested in the Brecks in 2013, compared to 2012. However, it remains to be seen how much of the decline is due to actual loss of birds due to starvation, or whether surviving birds chose not to nest following such extreme conditions.
The cold spring also had a negative effect on stone-curlew nesting success. Nesting started 2-3 weeks later than usual and insect numbers were very low throughout the spring. This resulted in a lack of food for chicks, and consequently only a few survived to fledge. Stone-curlews need to raise at least 0.6 chicks per year to maintain the population, but in the area monitored by RSPB only 0.26 chicks were raised per pair.
An extreme weather event like this shows just how vulnerable the stone-curlew population is despite its steady growth over the last thirty years. We are hoping for a warmer spring this year, to provide ideal conditions for the stone-curlew population to quickly recover and grow again.
As RSPB Stone-curlew Project Officer in the Brecks, I am now making preparations for our stone-curlew monitoring and protection work for next spring. With the start of the new year, and the days getting longer I am looking forward to getting away from my desk and back into the field. It is always a pleasure to spend time observing these fantastic birds.
Stone-curlew by Chris Gomersall (www.rspb-images.com)
Tim CowanRSPB Stone-curlew Project Officer, Eastern England