Curlew on the ‘brink of extinction’ in Ireland

The curlew is on the brink of extinction in Ireland unless the Government invests significant resources in protection measures.

That’s according to Birdwatch Ireland which was reacting to a series of recommendations from the Curlew Task Force aimed at promoting key policies and action for the conservation of one of Ireland’s most threatened bird species.

The taskforce comprises a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, academic institutions, conservation NGOs and turfcutters. It has published its recommendations following a two-year consultation process.

The group was set up in 2017 to try and arrest the decline in the native breeding population of the curlew. It’s estimated there are just 138 pairs of curlews in Ireland which is a decrease of 96% in almost 30 years.

Recommendations include the need for payments to landowners for sympathetic management, protection for curlew sites from inappropriate developments such as peat extraction, afforestation and intensification, as well as further research.

The taskforce also called for the development of a Species Action Plan aimed at rescuing the bird.

Assistant head of conservation with BirdWatch Ireland, Anita Donaghy, said the organisation has been writing to ministers since 2012 calling for action to be taken to protect the curlew.

“In the interim, there has been some positive action from the Government, and this is welcome.

“However, significantly more funding is required if we are to have any hope of saving this iconic species from extinction,” she said.

Ms Donaghy said Ireland is now in danger of becoming the first EU country to lose the curlew to extinction.

“Other ground nesting birds such as lapwing are on a similar trajectory.

“At a time when the Government is formulating major policies that will shape our farming landscape for the next 10 years, such as the CAP Strategic Plan and the Climate Action Plan, recognition must be given to the importance of protecting areas with nesting curlews from afforestation and other damaging land-use changes, as well as supporting farmers who maintain high nature value farmland, such as the places where curlews breed,” she said.

Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan said that the Government was determined to halt the decline in the curlew population.

She said that some of the recommendations from the task force were already well advanced.

“Clearly the decline in curlew numbers is a significant conservation concern and we are determined to work together across Government to halt and reverse this decline,” she said.