COULD ONE OR MORE OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE'S 50 'HEADSTARTED' CURLEWS COME TO THE GRIMSBY AREA FOR WINTER?

Curlew feeding on Cleethorpes Beach - watch out for birds with rings on both legs

                                                    

CURLEWS 'headstarted' in Gloucestershire during July could spend winter in or around Grimsby.

Headstarting is the technique whereby eggs are taken under licence from nests - invariably on Ministry of Defence land - then  incubated in confinement to prevent them being predated by creatures such as rats.

The chicks remain in confinement until they are mature enough to be released into suitable habitats in the wild.

Curlew eggs - removed under licence from MoD land (photo: WWT)

The 50 birds in question could  turn up feeding anywhere - on muddy estuaries, on playing fields and even in cemeteries.

For ease of identification,  each bird has been fitted with a yellow ring at the top of the right leg and a white ring with a number at the top of the left leg.

The organisation behind the headstarting project is the Slimbridge-based Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) which is appealing for information on sightings.

It says: "Please include as much information as you can - date, time, location, ring number and what they were up to. 

"Is it feeding? Is it in a high tide roost? We’d love to know.
"If you manage to capture a picture of the bird - even better!"

Although common locally in winter, UK-wide curlew numbers have declined by over 65 per cent  since 1970.

Continues the WWT: "Modern landscapes are making it increasingly difficult for adults to rear enough chicks to fledging age. 

"Because curlew live for a relatively long time, the hit on their population hasn't been obvious, as adult birds are still readily seen - but the lack of new chicks is becoming more and more apparent. 

"Predators are having a major impact. Curlew eggs and chicks are predated by mammals and birds. 

"This is a natural process, but some of these predators – such as foxes and crows - are more abundant in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, and there’s simply too much predation for the curlew population to sustain. 

"The efficiency of modern farming, along with a warming climate, means that hay and silage crops are harvested earlier by larger, faster modern machinery. In some places, eggs and chicks accidentally fall victim to the mower.

"Breeding curlews favour open, usually damp, grassland and heaths, which provide safe nest sites and places for both adults and chicks to feed. 

"But over recent decades, the land has become drier, more uniform and supports fewer insects, making it harder for curlews and their chicks to find food. 

"The curlew is now regarded as the most pressing bird conservation priority in the UK where we hold a quarter of the world’s population. 

"Its  decline  is not just the loss of a valuable wetland species, but a significant cultural and heritage loss too. 

"We are working with farmers and landowners, conservationists and communities to improve the curlews’ chances."

Anyone who detects one of the ringed birds is urged to email the info to: curlew@wwt.org.uk

Curlew cutie - one of the headstarted chicks (photo: WWT)