From almost the very first moment that you arrive in Orkney in springtime, you realise that something is different – special.
While a lot of its landscape appears to be quite similar to other parts of Scotland. One thing strikes me every time I go and that is the number of waders in the fields.
Curlews are everywhere, as are Lapwings and Oystercatchers and Redshanks.
And it’s not just that it feels like there are waders everywhere - they do remain more common here. With around 10% of the UK’s breeding Curlews despite making up less than 1% of the UK’s land area, Orkney punches far above its weight in terms of importance for this species and others.
A curlew flying and calling at the Onziebust Nature Reserve on the island of Egilsay in Orkney. Ian Francis
The same pattern is clear when you look at our nature reserves. Orkney has seven of the RSPB’s top 25 nature reserves for Curlew and they have some of the highest breeding densities of breeding Curlews in Europe.
And the reason this makes Orkney feel very special is that this is all set against a backdrop of significant declines across the UK and in Scotland.
The 2021 Breeding Bird Survey showed that Curlew numbers in Scotland declined by 60% between 1995 and 2020.
The main reasons that Orkney has been so good for Curlews and other waders is, like many islands, it lacks native mammalian predators found elsewhere in the UK, the quantity and distribution of unmanaged habitat scattered across the landscape (in between intensive farming), and the amount of designated (protected) land.
But keeping Orkney good for waders is an ongoing effort.
And even in these once wondrous islands, they are starting to suffer big declines. Since 2007, Curlew numbers have fallen by more than 50% and breeding attempts often end in failure even in places where lots remain. Like elsewhere, they are struggling with changes in how we use the land. But they also face a new threat.
Invasive non-native Stoats were first recorded in Orkney in 2010, having been either accidentally transported or deliberately introduced from the Scottish mainland. Stoats pose a threat to Orkney’s important populations of ground-nesting birds including Curlews. But there is hope. Through an ongoing partnership – the Orkney Native Wildlife Project – we are undertaking the world’s largest Stoat eradication on inhabited islands. The project is making good progress in returning Orkney to being Stoat-free to protect its native wildlife including Curlews.
Farmers across the county are also working hard to maintain and improve habitat for Curlews and other waders through agri-environment schemes which help ensure appropriate grazing and cutting dates. Curlews need a varied height/thickness of grass that includes regular tussocks (clumps of grass), which provide cover for nests and chicks.
They may also nest in sileage fields, but many nests don’t hatch until June – so support from agri-environment schemes to delay mowing of these fields can help improve breeding success by stopping nests and chicks getting chopped by machinery.
Alt text: Video of a curlew chick walking through grass while an adult calls in the background. RSPB (rspb-images.com)
The local RSPB Scotland team works with farmers and other landowners to promote these schemes and provide advice on positive land management for Curlew. There has been a good uptake of agri-environment schemes in Orkney, particularly in the North Isles, which is likely to be helping to sustain good breeding numbers as, in many cases, those farms support good numbers of Curlew.
The team has also been using funded projects in several areas in the North Isles to create the right conditions for high numbers of Curlew (and other waders). The aim is to establish a larger, more resilient population on a landscape scale. This work has involved getting the right amount of grazing (cattle are particularly good at creating the variety Curlew need) into areas where the vegetation has become too overgrown and tall and creating wetlands to provide muddy feeding areas through the breeding season, which is especially important for curlew chicks.
Across the UK, the RSPB and others are undertaking various other projects and initiatives to help Curlew. For example, Curlew LIFE is aiming to stabilise breeding populations in five landscapes across the UK by improving habitat including at our Insh Marshes Nature Reserve, the new Species on the Edge project led by NatureScot will look to help Curlew and other waders in the Inner Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland and the Solway, and local scale projects are helping to protect waders including Curlew in some of their Scottish mainland strongholds.
An adult Curlew in Aberdeenshire Ian Francis
Curlews in Scotland and across the UK are in crisis. But together we can make a difference and protect them in places where they can still thrive, like Orkney, and restore them to landscapes elsewhere. Only then will more people be able to experience fields full of Curlews – curved bills probing in damp soil to find food – and the skies filled with their iconic calls.
Header image: Curlew calling while in flight over Birsay Moors in Orkney. Its flying right to left with wings outstretched and bill open. Mike Pearce