Curlew
The (Eurasian) Curlew is a wader and one of the most widespread of the curlew species. In Europe, it is usually referred to just as the Curlew. It is mainly greyish-brown with a white back, greyish-blue legs and a very long curved bill. Males and females look identical but the bill is longest in the adult female. The only similar species over most of the Curlew's range is the Whimbrel but this species is smaller and has a shorter bill with a kinked tip rather than a smooth curve. The English name "curlew" is imitative of the Curlew's familiar and loud curloo-oo call.
The Curlew breeds across temperate Europe and Asia and builds a nest in a bare scrape on moors, meadows and similar habitats. It is a migratory species over most of its range and winters in Africa, south Europe and south Asia. It is present all year in the milder climates of the UK and its adjacent European coasts.
In the UK, the greatest breeding numbers are found in north Wales, the Pennines, the southern uplands and Highlands of Scotland and on Orkney. In winter, it can be found around the whole UK coastline with the largest concentrations at Morecambe Bay, the Solway Firth and the Wash and the Dee, Severn, Humber and Thames estuaries.
The Curlew is highly gregarious outside the breeding season and feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates or picking up small crabs and earthworms off the surface if the opportunity arises.
The Curlew is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Formerly classified as a species of “Least Concern” by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed. Following the evaluation of its population size, the classification was found to be incorrect and it was consequently promoted to “Near Threatened” status in 2008. Though it is a common bird, its numbers are noticeably declining.
Date: 6th November 2008
Location: Loch Spelve, Mull, Argyll
The Curlew breeds across temperate Europe and Asia and builds a nest in a bare scrape on moors, meadows and similar habitats. It is a migratory species over most of its range and winters in Africa, south Europe and south Asia. It is present all year in the milder climates of the UK and its adjacent European coasts.
In the UK, the greatest breeding numbers are found in north Wales, the Pennines, the southern uplands and Highlands of Scotland and on Orkney. In winter, it can be found around the whole UK coastline with the largest concentrations at Morecambe Bay, the Solway Firth and the Wash and the Dee, Severn, Humber and Thames estuaries.
The Curlew is highly gregarious outside the breeding season and feeds by probing soft mud for small invertebrates or picking up small crabs and earthworms off the surface if the opportunity arises.
The Curlew is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Formerly classified as a species of “Least Concern” by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed. Following the evaluation of its population size, the classification was found to be incorrect and it was consequently promoted to “Near Threatened” status in 2008. Though it is a common bird, its numbers are noticeably declining.
Date: 6th November 2008
Location: Loch Spelve, Mull, Argyll
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Also in: Sandpipers
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