With a slightly better forecast I returned to the hills of Bowland this morning in the hope of more pictures.
Curlews are quite difficult to nail down for a picture. They are very skittish and prone to fly off at the slightest hint of danger. No wonder the species is wary of homo sapiens since it was recently as the late 1970s that wildfowlers were allowed to shoot the Curlew. The Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 stopped that but the Curlew does itself no favours by continuing to live close to birds (geese and wildfowl) that remain legal “quarry”.
Curlew
Curlew
Curlew
There is an interesting discussion from Hansard, the Houses of Parliament October 1981 - Birds which may be killed or taken.
I recently read a book called Curlew Moon in which the author Mary Colwell takes us on a 500-mile journey on foot from the west coast of Ireland to the east coast of England, to learn more about the Curlew and why it has declined so much.
Curlew Moon
The author sets off in early spring when the birds are arriving on their breeding grounds, watches them nesting in the hills of Wales and walks through England when the young are hatching. She finishes her walk on the coast of Lincolnshire when the fledglings are trying out their wings. It’s a beautifully written if slightly sad book.
For anyone interested in the fate of this beautiful bird I heartily recommend buying a copy.
Curlew
All the data shows a similar downward trend.
Curlew - via BTO
Curlew - via BTO
A few more pictures from this morning. While taking photographs of two Oystercatchers I noticed that one of them bore a ring. I blew up the picture at home and could see two of the expected five numbers (2828) but none of the two letter suffix.
Oystercatchers
Oystercatcher - unringed
Oystercatcher - ringed
Oystercatcher
It may be possible to trace this if I ask nicely at the BTO. Stay tuned.
Linking today with Anni's Birding and Eileen's Blogspot.
.jpg)
