Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and the Peak District National Park Authority are today announcing the launch of the South West Peak Curlew Recovery Project. As part of this they hope to create a curlew community of people taking action across the Peak District and surrounding areas. Cheshire Wildlife Trust leads this partnership thanks to the generous donors who supported their appeal to bring wildlife back to Cheshire’s Peak District.
The curlew is a large, wading bird, about the same size as a female pheasant. Its haunting ‘cur-lee’ display call is unmistakable. It can be heard from March through to July on its breeding grounds - wet grasslands, farmland, heath and moorlands. Its long, downcurved bill is an unmistakeable feature and perfect for probing the ground for prey. Over the winter, they move back to coastal mud flats and estuaries across the UK and Northern Europe.
Thursday 21st April marks World Curlew Day, a day to celebrate an iconic species that’s synonymous with the Peak District’s spring and summer. Sadly, however the curlew’s breeding grounds are ever shrinking towards our uplands. Even in our uplands, the curlew’s spring arrival is an alarmingly rarer sight and sound. The wader is now classified as a Red-Listed species in the UK, making it of the highest conservation priority.
Martin Varley, Director of Nature’s Recovery at Cheshire Wildlife Trust says:
“Curlews are one of our fastest declining bird species. Changes in land use, agricultural intensification and habitat fragmentation have all pushed this iconic species to the brink. They are at a tipping point, with a very real threat of becoming extinct in the next few decades if we do not act.
“However it’s not too late. Isolated we can all look after our own land, deliver our own projects and gather our own data on how the species is doing locally. By joining together as a partnership of multiple charities, landowners, surveyors and local communities, we can really combine the focus and energy needed to build the momentum to bring curlews back to the Peak District.”
To kick off the curlew community, the partnership is hosting a free online event for everyone interested in curlews on Thursday 5th May. Anyone who lives in or visits the South West Peak District area, covering parts of Cheshire, Staffordshire is invited to attend. The partnership is looking for people to record sightings of the bird and take action on their land or in their community.
Martin continues:
“These birds bring a genuine happiness to my soul and I know they do to others. I’ve overheard many an excited conversation in pubs and village shops discussing the arrival of the year’s first curlew. They’re engrained into our culture; over the years curlew have inspired countless works of art, poetry and literature – their earliest mention dates back to a poem written in 1000AD. We simply cannot lose this species from our marvellous Peak District.
“I look forward to welcoming and meeting everyone, from all walks of life, at our curlew community event on Thursday 5th May. Whether you’re already surveying or taking action on your land, whether you have an idea about how to spread the word throughout your street, town, school or business or whether you just love curlews and want to hear more – we want you as part of our curlew community.”
Visit cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/curlews to register your interest.