Peatland wildlife

Curlew (Numenius arquata)

Curlew (Numenius arquata)

Description

The curlew is the largest wader in Europe, and has a distinctive long down-curved bill. Their plumage is mostly brown on the upper body with streaks on the neck and underparts, grading to white below the tail. The white rump is conspicuous in flight. Both sexes and the juveniles look alike. Its call is a very distinctive "cooo-leeee" which gives the bird its common name.

Behaviour

Curlews spend most of the winter months in estuaries and mud-flats, feeding on small marine worms, shrimps and shore-crabs. In early spring the birds move inland to breed in upland blanket bogs, lowland raised bogs and rough pasture. Outside the breeding season they are frequently seen in small flocks, often in the company of other waders.

Breeding

During courtship, the male rises steeply into the air and begins singing a crescendo of notes as he glides back down to the ground again on quivering wings. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground, lined with a few plant fibres. The female usually lays four green and brown eggs from March to May and the young birds leave the nest with their parents soon after hatching. They can fly at about 5 or 6 weeks old.

Status

Local

There has been a rapid decline in the population of breeding curlew in Northern Ireland over the last 25 years. The most recent survey in 1999 suggested that breeding pairs have declined by 58% since 1988. This rapid decline has been reflected in other parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland and is because of recent changes in agricultural practice. Key peatland sites in Northern Ireland include the southern slopes of the Sperrins, the Antrim Hills and the Fairywater bogs in County Tyrone.

The curlew is listed in Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Order as a quarry species. In Northern Ireland the curlew is a Priority Species for conservation because of the recent decline in its population and distribution. A Northern Ireland Species Action Plan for the curlew has been produced to ensure its future conservation in Northern Ireland.

The curlew is also included on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland and is listed as a "species that requires monitoring" in the Irish Red Data Book.

European

The curlew is also listed in Annex I of the EC Birds Directive on the conservation of wild birds and Appendix 2 of the Bern Convention.