Citizen scientists in Kildare can help bring one of Ireland’s most iconic birds back from the brink by reporting sightings in Kildare to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), according to a local senator.
“The nine key Curlew hotspots for the Curlew Conservation Programme include Umeras bog in Kildare,” said Senator Fiona O’Loughlin.
“Breeding Curlew are currently nesting in bogs, pastures, meadows and other open and wet habitats in Curlew hotspots around the country. By submitting records of sightings, the public can help build up a national picture of the number of breeding birds.”
The Curlew Conservation Programme is encouraging members of the public to record locations of Curlew sightings between April and June and report the information to the NPWS’s team.
How to submit records:
– By email: nationalcurlewsurvey@gmail.com
– By phone to the survey coordinator on 083 104 8000
– Online at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QRLHR7B here
The Curlew Conservation Programme – jointly funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine – has been collaborating with landowners in nine key areas (listed below) since 2017 in an effort to halt the decline of a bird whose numbers decreased by 96% in a 30 year period. Curlew occur in flocks around many of our coasts in winter, but the vast majority are migrants, with only around 1 in 30 birds actually breeding here in the Spring.
The call of the Curlew is synonymous with the Irish countryside – from lowland grassland and raised bogs to our mountains and hills their distinctive ‘coorlew’ call is a sign of Spring. Like a growing number of our bird species, Curlew populations have declined dramatically – so much so that fewer than 200 breeding pairs now occur across Ireland.
For more information on the Curlew Conservation Programme, including reports, see: https://www.npws.ie/farmers-and-landowners/schemes/curlew-conservation-programme