The haunting call of curlews was once commonplace across Shropshire and was a sound synonymous with the uplands of the county. But changes in land use have impacted their breeding numbers greatly, along with populations of other farmland birds like lapwings.
The Curlew is the “most important bird conservation priority in the UK”. The UK has special responsibility for curlews as it holds an estimated 28% of the European Population and 18-27% of the world population. It is also a national BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species. In the UK it declined by 65% between 1970 and 2015, and by 48% between 1995 and 2017 (30% in England, and 68% in Wales). It was added to the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK in December 2015.
The Birds of Shropshire publication estimated that the population in our county declined by an estimated 77% between 1990 and 2010, down to 160 pairs, with a further decline since. It was lost from 62% of the County’s 870 tetrads between 1985-90 and 2008-13. As a result, it is also on the Red List of Breeding Birds of Conservation Concern in Shropshire, recently published by SOS. At the current rate of decline, the County population will halve in 12 years, and virtually disappear in 25.
These statistics were made possible by the assistance of volunteer bird surveyors and more people are needed to help out in 2022 to ensure that data continues to be collected.
