The distinctive warbling call of the curlew has returned to Trasna Island in Lower Lough Erne, marking a significant conservation success.
For the first time in living memory, curlews have successfully bred on the island, bringing hope to conservationists.
RSPB Northern Ireland, which manages several islands in Lough Erne, acquired Trasna Island in 2017. Since then, they’ve collaborated with the Lough Erne Landscape Partnership to restore habitats and support the return of vulnerable species like the curlew, lapwing, snipe, and redshank.
Given that more than 80% of curlews have been lost since the 1980s, the sight of curlew chicks on a newly restored island is “just fantastic,” according to RSPB ranger Amy Burns.
Much about the elusive curlew remains a mystery.
“The more questions that you think you’ve got answered, the more questions they’ll pose to you,” she said.
“They’re very secretive in their behaviour, so it can be very difficult to establish nesting sites and figure out what they’re actually doing some years.”
What is known, however, is that the female typically leaves the island about four weeks after the chicks hatch, leaving the male to protect the brood on the ground for another 1-2 weeks until they’re ready to fly. During this time, the male stays vigilant, scanning for danger from above, including human presence.
“You can hear the male bird ‘yakking’,” Amy explained.
“So it’s a call specific to the fact that it’s got brood on the ground and it’s communicating with those chicks to say, ‘there’s danger present, so you either need to hide or if you’re capable of flying, take off and try and avoid that danger’,” she added.
“They’re incredible birds in the way they communicate with the young and the young respond back, although we can’t hear them.”
The return of this depleted species underscores the effectiveness of practical conservation efforts, such as clearing woodland and creating open grassland to attract breeding waders.
In the early twentieth century, Trasna Island’s open, farmed landscape was ideal for breeding curlews. Today, Highland cows are used in winter to manage vegetation with minimal human intervention, giving the birds the best chance of survival.
While the curlews have now left the lough for their next stage, there is optimism that this marks the beginning of a new chapter for the species in Fermanagh.
“We put in about 10 weeks’ worth of work this time of year,” said Amy.
“So when the curlew first return to site, by the time they pair up and lay eggs, they hatch and then they come up to fledging stage – when the chicks are capable of flying basically – they’ll head off from here, hopefully out west onto the coast and then down south for the winter.
“We’re hoping that they make it through the winter and they’ll join us again in the spring next year.”
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