The male of a pair of curlew that nests in my locality on a small bog. Athlone, Westmeath.

The curlew is a critically endangered breeding bird in Ireland with around 100 pairs that still breed in the country and the majority of curlews seen are non breeding birds here for the winter.
The curlew was once more common but took a severe decline since the 1980s due to bog cutting, land drainage, intensified agriculture and forestry plantations and around 90% of the population was decimated since the 80s as a result.

Ways to help include.

  1. Keeping cats inside or in a catio with access to indoors whenever it wants.
  2. Keeping dogs leashed around wildlife habitat such as bogland, healthland, moor and wetlands. And also not letting them free roam unsupervised.
  3. Supporting sustainable agriculture and investing in less intensive, more traditional methods.
  4. Spreading awareness and encouragement of our Wildlife to young people and give them an incentive to preserve it.

by velocirooster64

13 comments

  3. I read this with David Attenborough’s voice in my head. Gorgeous, thanks for sharing!

  5. What a stunning looking bird and always remind me of growing up on the beach in North County Dublin. I still hear them near the estuary, but not like 20 years ago.

  6. Seen one for the first time last year! They make an unusual noise

  8. Wow I didn’t know they were endangered I saw a couple of them at my local beach the other morning and thought they looked cool and not something i see everyday

  10. I’m in Roscommon farther up Lough Ree and heard one a couple of weeks ago. Couldn’t believe it but the Merlin app confirmed it.

  11. I thought I saw a flock of them on the Clare coast, which kind of confused me a bit. Turns out they were whimbrels on route to their nesting grounds.

    Would love to catch a glimpse of them one day before they are gone forever.

  12. Curlews are quite common here, as in we hear and see them quite regularly and have done for all my life. Just lucky, I guess.

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