A new collaboration involving conservation groups in Ireland and Britain aims to provide a major boost to the curlew population in Ireland, two Government ministers have said.
A special licensing arrangement between Ireland and Britain will allow for the importation of curlew eggs to supplement the curlew population in Ireland. Details have been announced by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon. Under this arrangement, eggs collected from the stable curlew population in the Yorkshire Dales are transported to Ireland under the care and supervision of conservationists in Britain and Ireland.
They are cared for at incubation facilities in Ireland until the chicks are ready for release. Twenty chicks were released this week, marking “this new, ambitious conservation effort to bring this iconic bird back from the brink of decline in Ireland,” the ministers have said.
Watchful Release — Conservation staff monitor newly released curlews as part of the Breeding Waders EIP programme, which combines headstarting, habitat management and long-term monitoring. Photo: Andrew Downes
The unique conservation initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Breeding Waders European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, and is supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
“This landmark licensing arrangement is in place with British authorities for the next five years. That means we will add 200 birds to the existing curlew population by 2030. The scale of this intervention is unprecedented and will bolster existing conservation efforts. It will boost breeding numbers, support recovery of the species and strengthen the long-term viability of curlew in Ireland,” O’Sullivan said.
“In parallel, I’m committed to working with communities and landowners to develop targeted actions to protect and restore the habitats needed by these amazing birds, as part of the national Nature Restoration Plan.”
First Steps — A newly released curlew moves into its natural habitat under the watch of conservation staff involved in the Breeding Waders EIP headstarting and monitoring programme. Photo: Andrew Downes
The curlew population in Ireland is estimated to have declined by 98% since the 1980s. Curlew conservation efforts to date by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Breeding Waders EIP and other projects have focused on protecting the existing breeding population through measures such as nest protection, headstarting and predator control.
While data suggest small increases in recent years, the number of breeding curlew pairs in Ireland is estimated at between 100 and 150. Significant work has been conducted across both jurisdictions over the past year to facilitate the importation of the eggs.
In May this year, forty curlew eggs from the Yorkshire Dales were carefully transported from Britain by the Breeding Waders EIP team for early-stage rearing at the Centre for Species Survival in Dublin Zoo.
Once the chicks reached 15 to 20 days old, they were cared for in specially designed release aviaries by the Breeding Waders EIP team to acclimatise to natural conditions before their release.
Back to the Wild — A GPS-tagged curlew explores its new habitat after release under the Ireland-Britain conservation initiative to strengthen the country's breeding population. Photo: Andrew Downes
Speaking about the initiative, the Breeding Waders EIP Senior Project Manager, Owen Murphy, said:
“Initiatives such as headstarting and this further step of egg importation are not taken lightly. Detailed assessments of a species population to determine changes in abundance, density and distribution over time are combined with modelling of the impact of the proposed conservation actions on the species in question.”
“This data informs our decisions and, in this case, showed the clear benefit of accessing additional eggs to supplement our headstarting programme. A huge thanks to the Yorkshire Dale Moorland Group for their willingness to work collaboratively, share knowledge and aid in our attempts to retain breeding Eurasian Curlew as an intrinsic part of the Irish landscape.”
Donal Beagan, Breeding Waders EIP Headstarting and Nest Protection Manager, highlighted the collaborative work involved in achieving this milestone: “This is the culmination of a period of nearly 12 months in the planning, involving stakeholders on both sides of the Irish Sea,” he said.
Over the coming weeks, the Breeding Waders EIP will continue to release curlew chicks at different locations around the country. A number of released birds are fitted with GPS tags so their movements can be tracked, adding to a growing body of knowledge about the species.
