Curlew on the move
SOME 120 curlew eggs were transported to the South of England last week, the largest translocation of the threatened species ever undertaken. The translocation scheme, which was launched last year with 40 eggs collected from grouse moors and adjacent grassland, was so successful that the number this year has tripled. The eggs are sourced from the Yorkshire Dales and transported south in a bid to expand the breeding range of this endangered species. Five estates in Yorkshire are taking part—West Arkengarthdale, Bolton, Gunnerside, Grinton and Reeth—all of which have existing healthy populations of breeding curlew. The Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group (YDMG) is coordinating the translocation efforts, while funding comes from the Duke of Norfolk, who owns the West Arkengarthdale estate.
‘Ground-nesting birds face so many challenges and are in severe decline in most parts of England,’ says Ian Sleightholm, headkeeper at the Bolton estate. ‘This is one of the practical steps we can take to give the curlew a helping hand in the rest of the country.’ ‘We prioritise nests that are likely to fail anyway—for example if the nest is too close to a footpath or if predators are likely to eat the eggs, or if it’s in an area of grass that might be cut for silage,’ adds Mr Sleightholm. ‘There are many reasons why a nest will fail naturally. We also try to take the eggs at a time when there is a possibility the adult bird will re-lay before the end of the season.’
After a period of natural incubation, the eggs are incubated artificially and monitored for about 16 days, until they are judged as viable for the journey south, says the YDMG. Once they reach their destination, the eggs continue to be incubated artificially until they are hatched, whereupon they are reared in special pens away from predators, before being released when they are old
