There are over 50 fact-files about birds on this channel, so its about time I told you all about the Curlew. With a wingspan of 89–106 cm (35–42 in) and a body weight of point 4 to 1.3 kilograms (0.90–3.00 lb) these are the largest waders in Europe. Their feathers are mottled grey and brown, they have long gangly legs and their most well known feature is their down curved and very long bill. This can measure up to 15 centimetres long. It is almost impossible to separate male and female Curlews from just looking at them, although females are usually slightly larger. In the UK there is a similar species called a whimbrel, which is smaller, has a more noticeably curved bill and has a dark eye stripe.
During the winter curlews gather around wetland areas, coastal marshes, mudflats and the surrounding farmland, whilst during the summer they are mostly seen in upland grassland areas where they breed. This has not always been the case, they used to nest across much more of the UK but have undergone a significant decline, which I will speak about a shortly.
With their specially adapted bills, curlews can probe into soft soil, mud and underwater in search of food. Their diet is mainly made up of crustaceans, shellfish, worms and other invertebrates.
Curlews form long lasting pair bonds and will usually return to the same nesting area year after year. It’s the males who create the nests, which are well hidden scrapes, on the ground and lined with dry vegetation. Between April and July the female will lay between 3 and 5 olive coloured eggs that are mottled with darker spots. These measure between 6 to 7 cm long and take around 28 days to hatch. Both parents usually incubate the eggs, although sometimes its just the female that does so. Once the chicks hatch they leave the nest straight away, but are reliant on their parents for warmth and to alert them of danger. During this time they are very vulnerable to predators so stay well hidden following their parents and feed on a diet of invertebrates. It takes young curlews 4 weeks to fledge, by which time they look like more streaky versions of their parents, with slightly shorter bills. Curlews will only breed once per year but if the nest is destroyed early on, as often happens, they may lay a second clutch.
As I mentioned earlier in this video, Curlews populations have reduced drastically in the UK and are considered one of our fastest declining breeding birds. Their numbers are down by more than 50% since 1995. There are several possible causes for this including changes in farming practices, an increase in some predators, climate change and afforestation, where trees are planted in places that haven’t been woodlands for a long time. To try to combat this decline, there are captive rearing programs that rear curlews to the point of fledging and then release them, when they have the best chance to avoid predators.
Curlews that breed in the UK, usually remain in this country throughout the year, but elsewhere in their range, which includes north western Europe, Scandinavia and some parts of Russia, they are migratory. In the winter, some of these birds come to the UK, whilst others head south into Africa, south Asia and southern Europe.
There are currently between 50 and 60 thousand pairs of curlew in the UK, with around 125000 overwintering here. They have an average lifespan of around 11 years, with the oldest known curlew making it to 32 years and 7 months of age. The name curlew is thought to come from the birds call, although I think the person who decided this mustn’t have had the best hearing.
Some of the footage and images in this video were obtained using creative commons licences, the originals and their licence details can be found at:
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