East Lancashire nature enthusiasts were treated to a sighting of one of the UK’s most threatened birds over the weekend.
The images of the bird were submitted to the Lancashire Telegraph Camera Club by Peter McGuire, who spotted the animal whilst walking around Tockholes.
As the largest European wading bird, the Eurasian curlew is often found in estuaries in winter and on moorland in the summertime.
Curlews are considered part of the Lancashire springtime landscape and spend the summer breeding season in the Pennine uplands around Colne.
However, they were added to the Red List on the UK Conservation Status Report in 2015, with the highest conservation priority for species on the list.
Over the past 25 years, the UK has witnessed a 50 per cent decline in the Eurasian curlew population, with significant crashes occurring in specific areas.
The decline in wading bird numbers has been attributed to unsustainable housing developments, harmful farming practices, and litter.
Intensive farming practices, including drainage and reseeding are likely to have contributed to declines of breeding populations, as have turning areas of moorlands into forest.
In March, the University of Lancashire was awarded £51,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help raise awareness of the curlew bird and to protect its habitat in East Lancashire.
READ MORE: Nature enthusiast captures stunning image of short-eared owl in East Lancashire
READ MORE: Lancashire nature reserve with barn owls, swans and more among best in UK
The seven-month project, 'Walking and Talking with Landscape: The Curlew Way', will include workshops and field trips with pupils from Park High School in Colne, local farmers, and the general public to learn about sustainable practices, habitat management, and nest protection.
Senior fine art lecturer William Titley will run several community projects to educate people about the bird’s importance to the ecosystem and what can be done to protect it.
To identify the bird, birdwatchers should look for the down-curved bill, brown upperparts, and long legs.
Whilst some of the birds spend the winter in Ireland and France, the UK gets an influx of Scandinavian-breeding curlews, who take advantage of the relatively mild winters.
Share