Curlew

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 The curlew is a large wading bird about the size of a herring gull.

In the winter curlew usually stay on the coast but as the spring arrives they head towards their breeding grounds in moorland or agricultural land. There are approx 60,000 breeding pairs in the UK although winter numbers are swelled by birds from Scandinavia. The bird is declining across it's range. and the UK has one of the biggest world populations.


Curlew nest on the ground  in boggy areas and untidy fields near soft ground or marshes where they can use their long bills to search for food. Agricultural practices (draining and "improving" fields) militate against them. There is some research that indicates  that at least a part of the decline is due to increased predation.
Morecambe Bay near us is an important winter venue for the birds and most breed in the North of England or in Scotland. The pictures above were taken of a bird that chose to breed in a field margin next to us last summer. Yesterday I was at Tarn Sike reserve about 10 miles away and saw a flock of at least 100 curlew
I have had reports of several curlew feeding in fields adjacent to the River Eden in Kirkby Stephen.


The song of the curlew is wonderfully evocative and punctuates the arrival of Spring in upland areas near us. I am attaching a link to a British Trust for Ornithology video that provides some curlew calls, and also shows the difference between the curlew and is close relative the Whimbrel (although I have never seen whimbrel inland here) BTO video

Diary Notes
Last nights cameras gave a glimpse of a fox near the pond in the bog meadow.
On yesterday's walk along Scandal Beck we saw roe deer, grey wagtail, heron, and a distant glimpse of a dipper. A lot of primrose in flower along the lanes.







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