The hunting of curlew in France has long been a point of contention, with moratoriums being placed and lifted on and off throughout the past 10 years. Within Western Europe it is now recognised that the population of Eurasian Curlew is decreasing rapidly, and measures are being put in place to try and halt the decline, including the …
Capturing Curlews: April’s Song and Dance As the rain finally began to turn to sunshine for one beautiful week in late April, I travelled up to Shropshire from my home in Bristol to finally begin the production of a film I’ve had in the works since Christmas. I am a Masters student of Wildlife Filmmaking at …
Capturing Curlew – Guest Blog from Billy Clapham Read More »
Blog by Amber Bicheno, Curlew Country Trainee Between the 3rd and 5th of August I joined Sticks and Stuff’s pop up art gallery, up at the Blakemoorgate cottages on the Stiperstones. Sticks and Stuff is an arts group that celebrates nature and local landscapes, making beautiful creations out of reclaimed and natural materials. Kate Johnston …
A Case For Curlew – A day out with Sticks and Stuff Read More »
Each year, someone within the project area publishes a photo of a number of adult curlew and suggests that the population level is not a problem and even that curlew are, despite the evidence, breeding successfully. Our attention has been drawn to this happening in July of this year. Below we address why this can be an …
Wynford Jones and his wife Joyce were the first farmers to contact the Landscape Partnership Scheme when it was set up back in 2013. With my colleague John Brayford, I am responsible for the Farming Project and took the call. Wynford was in fact phoning not for advice, but to say that he was not …
The Oakdale Saga – The challenge faced by farmers and chicks Read More »
Did any chicks survive? One morning at the end of the season, I received an email from a farmer in Wales to say that they had seen ‘their’ curlew family flying greater distances from the farm, and now they have disappeared. Phew – we now know that some chicks have fledged successfully and stand a …
It was a bitter-sweet visit to the Curlew Country project in Shropshire on June 12th. It was a baking hot day, and for a couple of hours before lunch Amanda Perkins and Tony Cross from the project, Phil Sheldrake (RSPB), Mike Smart (ace birdwatcher) and myself tried to find three or four chicks that were …
Until the last Curlew Calls… Blog by Mary Colwell Hector Read More »
The project needs funding to help secure a future for local curlew and play its part in the survival of the wider curlew population. Please help us to secure a Country for Curlew, find out how you can help here. Curlew Fact Without essential intervention work to help the population recover, it is estimated …
Blog by Amanda Perkins, Curlew Country Project Manager Thank you to the many people who have sent positive messages about the Curlew Cam. Unlike tree nesting birds observed by a camera, the natural departure of curlew chicks from the nest is much more abrupt and has left viewers wanting to see more of what happens to …
On Monday 29th May, 2017, some of the Curlew Country team were joined by Tim Main. Tim along with others had been in touch about curlew sightings outside the Curlew Country boundaries in Shropshire. Tim came out in the hope that learning more about Curlew could lead him to help learn more about curlew behaviour …
A Day’s Visit to Curlew Country’s Nest Monitoring Read More »
Amber Bicheno, Stiperstones and Corndon LPS Trainee, has been assisting with the Curlew Country Project in 2017. Find out what she’s been doing with the team this week (07/06/2017). This was the next step. It meant we had made it, at least a little further, in successfully getting some nests to hatching stage. This …
Heather Scott, a placement student gaining work experience as part of a Harper Adams University Countryside Management Course spent some time with Tony Cross, ornithologist and Amanda Perkins, project manager on Monday 15th May. She has written a piece about her experience. We started out from the office at about mid-day as Mandi had to …