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Gwent’s breeding Curlews are back and we need your help discovering where exactly they are!

Andy Karran

Gwent’s breeding Curlews have returned! We know some of their traditional breeding sites but are there more? The answer is almost definitely yes. But where? We’re on a mission to find as many sites as we can because unless we know where they are we can’t take steps to conserve them.
Verity Picken from Gwent Ornithological Society (GOS) explains more...

And as you probably all know Curlews are likely to become extinct as a breeding species in Wales within the next decade if we can’t reverse the decline.

So we really do need your help.  Please submit every single record, whether seen or heard, to the dedicated email address Curlew@gwentbirds.org.uk .  As before, please give the date, location (a grid reference is a huge help), number and, if possible, the habitat (pasture, silage, hay, moorland, marshy area etc) and whether there are sheep or cattle present.  Signs of display are particularly important.

 One more thing: if you’re lucky enough to find Curlews it would be great if you could make a repeat visit (or visits), sending an email on each occasion to say if Curlews are present or absent – negative reports are also helpful.

Thanks to the records you’ve submitted in the past two years, Curlew Wales (Gylfinir Cymru)* has recognised our breeding Curlews as ‘an important isolated population’ and is supporting Gwent Ornithological Society in our attempts to locate all Gwent’s breeding pairs. 

 

Curlew in flight

Andy Karran

Curlew hotspots

As well as revisiting the areas where you’ve previously seen Curlews, we would very much appreciate help to follow up on a number of other areas. Some of these have held breeding Curlews in recent years whereas others (which may not have been visited by birders recently) held birds a few years ago and we’d like to know if they’re still there:

  • Northwest Gwent:  Trefil, Tredegar, Cefn Golau, Cefn Manmoel, Garnlydan Reservoir, Garn-yr-Erw and other areas;
  • West Gwent:  Markham and northwards;
  • North Gwent:  Llanwenarth and several areas north of Abergavenny, including Blaengavenny, Llanvihangel Crucorney and Llangattock Lingoed reaching up towards Grosmont;
  • East Gwent:  Llanishen, Trellech, Cwmcarvan;
  • Mid Gwent (more or less):  Pontypool, Greenmeadow Golf Course, Llanover, north of Raglan, Llandenny, Gwernesney, Llansoy, Newchurch, Llangybi, Llanllowell.

If you are able to visit a new area please get in touch (on the email address above) – I can provide you with details of the fields to be covered.   

curlew

Andy Karran

*Curlew Wales is a joint working group of organisations which are committed to Curlew recovery in Wales; it includes representatives from the government, conservation, farming and game management sectors: NRW, WOS, RSPB Cymru, BTO, Curlew Country, Wildlife Trusts Wales, Brecon Beacons National Park, the GWCT and NFU Cymru are just a few of its members.

 

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