Welcome funds to save breeding waders from extinction

Waders are among the most threatened of all breeding birds in Ireland, with six in the red list of birds of conservation concern: curlew, lapwing, dunlin, golden plover, redshank, and snipe

Curlew (Numenius arquata): Each winter, we get thousands of curlews from Scotland, Scandinavia, and even Russia

You usually hear a curlew before you see one. So it was the other day when the unmistakable, and lonesome ‘cor-lee’ call rang out from the Tralee Bay wetlands, in County Kerry.

It came as we walked the path by the old ship canal, at Blennerville, with the Dingle Peninsula and Fenit Port looming ahead. A few minutes later, and a little further along the estuary, two curlews were spotted.