Guest blog by Sarah Sanders, RSPB Curlew Recovery Programme Manager
It was wonderful to wake up to the call of a curlew on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme (50 minutes into clip). The story behind it was deeply worrying.
A ground-breaking assessment
In collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology and the International Wader Study Group, our very own scientists Daniel Brown, David Douglas, Graeme Buchanan and Nicola Crockford are co-authors on a new ground breaking assessment, published in Bird Conservation International, of the threats facing the Numeniini group (this is the scientific term for the curlews and godwits). This is a group of 13 large wader species consisting of the upland sandpiper, four godwit and eight curlew species. Four of these species occur regularly in the UK: The Eurasian curlew, whimbrel and black tailed godwit which breed and winter in the UK and the arctic-breeding bar tailed godwit which is seen around our coasts in winter.
It’s shocking that over half of these species are of conservation concern, including three of the UK species. Four are globally threatened with extinction. Already this century the Eskimo curlew, a former widespread and abundant species in the Americas is probably already extinct while for the slender-billed curlew, which wintered in the Mediterranean Basin, right on the UK’s doorstep, there has been no undisputed record for over 20 years.
The study collated the views of over 100 wader experts from around the world, and concluded that the main threat, internationally, to the Numeniini group is the loss and deterioration of coastal estuaries and wetlands which are under increasing pressure from development and disturbance, especially in Asia. The Yellow Sea, an extensive shallow sea between North East China and the Korean Peninsula (the Asian ecological equivalent of the North Sea), is under huge pressure. A quarter of mudflat feeding areas have been lost since the 1980s and much of the remainder is heavily degraded. This is pushing at least 27 species of migratory waterbirds of the East Asian Australasian Flyway, towards extinction making this region one of the highest nature conservation priorities both in Asia and the world.
In the UK our coastal wetlands have, to a large extent, escaped the loss and damage we see around the world. This has not happened by chance. The world-leading European Nature Directives have ensured that our major estuaries are designated and recognised for their international role in supporting globally important populations of waterbirds. This has been backed by effective conservation programmes and campaigns to safeguard these vital places. As the UK develops its plans to leave the European Union it is vital that we ensure that these important places are protected at least to the same standard – and that we take every opportunity to go even further and secure their future.
UK has a special responsibility for the Eurasian Curlew
Here in the UK the main threat is to the much-loved Eurasian curlew. The UK has a special responsibility for this species as it is the third most important country in the world; hosting up to 27% of the breeding population. The Eurasian curlew is in serious trouble here, having declined by 48% since the mid 90s. Similar declines have been observed widely elsewhere across its range. This led to it being classified as Near Threatened by IUCN and recently up-listed to Red on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern list.
The combination of global importance of the UK breeding population, adverse conservation status and rapid decline makes the curlew arguably the most urgent bird conservation priority in the UK. We need to take action now because if not the decline will almost certainly continue and curlew may disappear from some parts of the UK. For example in Northern Ireland there have been 82% declines with less than 500 breeding pairs remaining.
Eurasian Curlew. Photo by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
The RSPB UK Curlew Recovery Programme
The RSPB is responding with a five year curlew recovery programme with the aim of improving the conservation prospects for the species. We are now coming to the end of the second year so this is a brief update on progress.
A main component of this first phase is a scientific trial management project which is testing the potential for a combination of habitat management and predator control interventions to stabilise and recover the breeding population. Working at six sites, which are a mixture of private farmland and reserves, across the four countries, we hope the findings will inform the development of future evidence-based ‘curlew-friendly’ land management options. Although it is too early to draw any conclusions, following the first year of interventions we can say that the methods we are trialing appear to be moving in the right direction for curlew.
We are also starting to roll-out immediate action. As breeding curlew are widely dispersed across landscapes, we are building partnerships with farmers, land managers and organisations so that we can maximise impact for the species. The RSPB can’t do this on its own.
The world has likely already lost two species of curlew. We need to do all we can to ensure that we don’t lose the call of the Eurasian curlew too!