The world may be in lockdown due to Covid-19, but April 21st is World Curlew Day and we want to celebrate these wonderful waders with you all! Here is a roundup of our activities, videos and posts for you to delve into and hopefully learn a little more about these charismatic birds.
Curlew Country has been working on the ground for 5 years now, and it wouldn’t be possible without the help and support of our wonderful farming partners. We have been so pleased to have been awarded Facilitation Funding this year, to help our farmers prepare for the future and achieve real results both for the wildlife they are supporting and their farm businesses. Chair of the Curlew Country Facilitation Fund farmers group, Rhian Pinches, is kicking off proceedings with her first Spring Farming Diary entry. Follow her journey through this season of lambing and learn more about what’s involved with everyday farming.
If you are looking for a light-hearted activity to see you through World Curlew Day (and lockdown boredom!) then our paper curlew tutorial may be for you. Put together by our project assistant Amber, this real-time video goes through some basic origami that you can do at home. Be sure to tag us in your creations for a chance to be featured on our website!
If you want to test yourself on some fun basic facts, then have a go at our Curlew Quiz.
For those of you that are lucky enough to live near to curlew and can see or hear them on your daily exercise, we now have our Curlew Observation Film, giving a more in-depth information online! Watch this 30-minute video to learn more about curlew behaviour and how to interpret it. Originally produced in 2017, in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology by filmmaker Ben Osborne, this is a great introduction for those wanting to help survey Curlew or simply understand more about them.
Project Manager, Amanda Perkins, has also written a blog on what Curlew Country is doing this year. Obviously, the current situation has meant many changes to our plans, but she highlights some of the silver linings that have come from those shifting priorities.
We are delighted to have been contacted by the three sisters from Reasons to be Wild with a limited-edition curlew print by artist and sister, Emily Crookshank. Proceeds from sales will be donated to Curlew Country and The Countryside Volunteers. Drawn from an original image by wildlife photographer Joshua Copping, check out their shop on www.reasonstobewild.com
Head over to our host and partner, GWCT to hear more about their important work in Scotland (here) and concerns over curlew recovery management here.
We hope you find some way to celebrate this World Curlew Day!