World Curlews

Earlier this week was apparently World Curlew Day. Naturally the media weren't interested as it wasn't anything shallow or pointless. So I thought I'd do a blog about Curlews which many of you will already know, but you can just look at the pictures! There are nine species of Curlew or Whimbrel, all in the genus Numenius, although some taxonomists would argue that Eurasian and Hudsonian Whimbrel are conspecific, an argument that's been going on for years. Many years ago Little Curlew (then called Whimbrel) was sometimes considered conspecific with Eskimo Curlew, whether that was clutching at straws in view of its imminent extinction we'll never know, but I think DNA has established they weren't the same species, so it will just be another extinction to add to the "hunted-out" list.

I was lucky enough to see these on a trip to see Tuamotu Sandpiper, arranged by Dave Rosair and Wildwings. We were lucky with the timing as birds become flightless for a period whilst overwintering. Small population size is the reason for their listing as NT.

 

Whimbrels are the wader we most often come across in our travels. Strangely, in the UK they are usually wary, whereas in many countries they are just the opposite. The next bird is the smallest extant curlew.

Due to its range there is little up to date information about these, but they were reported as "pouring in to Darwin " on their way south in the 1990's. We struggled to see more than a few distant birds in 2012. I was lucky enough to see the 1985 bird on Blakeney, when we called it Little Whimbrel. My only photos came when I was on a ship heading for Japan and this bird circled for about half an hour. Sadly, it didn't like the look of us so didn't join the Pacific Golden Plover that was already resting in someone's cabin!                                From the smallest Curlew to one of the largest-  

A prairie species, which could explain the bill, and restricted to the US and Canada, although birds move south as non-breeders. Frequently seen, especially in the west, but never in large numbers. Its eastern counterpart has a lower population overall but is listed as Endangered.

Sadly, World Curlew Day came too late for the Slender-billed Curlew. It is probably extinct, but so many parts of its range are inacessible we may never know for sure. It probably needed conservation efforts to have been started long before the full extent of its breeding grounds were discovered, which they never were.
 

Hopefully the ultimate outlook for Eurasian Curlew will be a bit brighter, Currently listed as Near-threatened, but showing severe declines in many countries including the UK, we cannot surely lose that far-reaching call across Moorlands and other remote areas. When we moved to Sutton Bridge birds used to winter in the field at the back of our garden. I do still see the odd one or two in the area, but a regular flock once again would be great. At least some conservation work is being done.