Things you need to know about CURLEWS!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
- There are over 50 fact-files about birds on this channel, so its about time I told you all about the Curlew. With a wingspan of 89-106 cm (35-42 in) and a body weight of point 4 to 1.3 kilograms (0.90-3.00 lb) these are the largest waders in Europe. Their feathers are mottled grey and brown, they have long gangly legs and their most well known feature is their down curved and very long bill. This can measure up to 15 centimetres long. It is almost impossible to separate male and female Curlews from just looking at them, although females are usually slightly larger. In the UK there is a similar species called a whimbrel, which is smaller, has a more noticeably curved bill and has a dark eye stripe.
During the winter curlews gather around wetland areas, coastal marshes, mudflats and the surrounding farmland, whilst during the summer they are mostly seen in upland grassland areas where they breed. This has not always been the case, they used to nest across much more of the UK but have undergone a significant decline, which I will speak about a shortly.
With their specially adapted bills, curlews can probe into soft soil, mud and underwater in search of food. Their diet is mainly made up of crustaceans, shellfish, worms and other invertebrates.
Curlews form long lasting pair bonds and will usually return to the same nesting area year after year. It’s the males who create the nests, which are well hidden scrapes, on the ground and lined with dry vegetation. Between April and July the female will lay between 3 and 5 olive coloured eggs that are mottled with darker spots. These measure between 6 to 7 cm long and take around 28 days to hatch. Both parents usually incubate the eggs, although sometimes its just the female that does so. Once the chicks hatch they leave the nest straight away, but are reliant on their parents for warmth and to alert them of danger. During this time they are very vulnerable to predators so stay well hidden following their parents and feed on a diet of invertebrates. It takes young curlews 4 weeks to fledge, by which time they look like more streaky versions of their parents, with slightly shorter bills. Curlews will only breed once per year but if the nest is destroyed early on, as often happens, they may lay a second clutch.
As I mentioned earlier in this video, Curlews populations have reduced drastically in the UK and are considered one of our fastest declining breeding birds. Their numbers are down by more than 50% since 1995. There are several possible causes for this including changes in farming practices, an increase in some predators, climate change and afforestation, where trees are planted in places that haven’t been woodlands for a long time. To try to combat this decline, there are captive rearing programs that rear curlews to the point of fledging and then release them, when they have the best chance to avoid predators.
Curlews that breed in the UK, usually remain in this country throughout the year, but elsewhere in their range, which includes north western Europe, Scandinavia and some parts of Russia, they are migratory. In the winter, some of these birds come to the UK, whilst others head south into Africa, south Asia and southern Europe.
There are currently between 50 and 60 thousand pairs of curlew in the UK, with around 125000 overwintering here. They have an average lifespan of around 11 years, with the oldest known curlew making it to 32 years and 7 months of age. The name curlew is thought to come from the birds call, although I think the person who decided this mustn’t have had the best hearing.
Some of the footage and images in this video were obtained using creative commons licences, the originals and their licence details can be found at:
• 大杓鷸 Eurasian curlew 金門...
• De wulp (Numenius arqu...
• 干潟のダイシャクシギ 2020年2月 美しい...
• ダイシャクシギ 九州の干潟 2月下旬 野鳥4...
• Curlew preening on the...
• The Curlew
• Courlis cendré (Numeni...
• Curlew having a wash a...
• Courlis cendré (Numen...
• Nesting curlew
• Courlis cendré (Numen...
• Curlew feeding in the ...
• Nesting dangers.
• wulp
• Courlis Cendré : un oi...
• Courlis corlieu (Numen...
www.flickr.com/photos/0ysterc...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
#birdwatching #nature #wildlife 
Животные
We've seen and heard many curlews in the Yorkshire Dales (but a long time ago.) Such beautiful birds with a haunting call. ❤
Thanks again for such a lovely video. I do enjoy your gentle, relaxed style.
Now this is a bird I know I've seen.❤
Thank you for posting this Liam, top work👍
Cheers John!
Enjoyed seeing the curlew. They’re beautiful birds. Love their call.
Thank you!
Very interesting. Thank you Liam 😊
Thank you for watching!
Thanks! Liam 🪶
My favourite wading bird. I love the different sounds they make, such magical birds.👍
Search for a song called The Princess and the Sky Goat by Banco de Gaia. Nice curlew sounds in it.
@@jf2613 Thanks
Always something to learn here, f'rinstance I never would've guessed that a curlew could live for over 30 years.. Nice one Liam! ⭐👍
Thanks William! I am glad these videos are helpful. I love learning more about wildlife as I research the facts I include in them.
They are in number on the Dee estuary and along the coast of North Wakes. Love seeing them
I always wondered why they are in the field behind my house in spring/summer 😅 now I know !
Great video , cheers
Beautiful birds, see them down the harbour now and then, shame they are on the decline. Thanks Liam, lovely vid.
Lovely video Liam, the call of the curlew is one of the most evocative sounds in nature.
Cheers! I am off up to the coast this weekend so hopefully I will hear it in the flesh for the first time this year!
Love how you filmed these birds in the meadows. Magical! Thanks
Thanks for another informative video. I saw a Curlew two days ago 😊
Fascinating!
When I was young we used to often see curlews in the fields around our village and their cry was very familiar, but now I only see them on the higher hills or in the Yorkshire Dales.
Same here in mid-Wales. Used to hear them down on the farmland when I was young but now only see them up on the high moors here in Powys in the summer.
Love curlews
Thank you Liam for another top notch fact file video. They must take a lot of work to produce . What an impressive bird, and so specialised. It’s call has gotta be the one that reminds us of a remote sea fresh estuary! Such a wild call 👍☺️🙏
Cheers! Finding and filming all the footage is probably the hardest part of making these videos but the idea is that they're equivalent to a couple of pages of a wildlife guide book, supported with relevant footage.
Thanks for always watching and i'll see you in the next one!
@@AShotOfWildlife thanks for the insight Liam behind the scenes on how you research. Far better than I could ever do hence this is why I watch your videos and those of other wildlife enthusiasts. Everyone plays to their own strengths that’s why I appreciate the efforts you guys make with these videos. 👍☺️🙏
@Compo67 thanks Steve. People like you watching and enjoying, makes it worthwhile. Cheers
Thank you !!!
You're welcome, Thank you for watching!
There is Curlew Mountain in Co Sligo, Ireland
Love the male singing at mateing season
Cheers. I'm hoping to get up north this spring so hopefully I will hear it first hand this year!
Great vid buddy, the call always always warms my heart 😊 love watching them and what they pull out of the mud and soil with their bills ❤ top stuff bud !!!
Thanks JP. Im off up to Titchwell this weekend so hopefully I will see some on that trip, they're always great to spot!
I love the sound of these birds ,so peaceful
Cheers!
Fantastic video thanks for sharing
One of my fave birds sadly as you say are on the decline I’ve not seen one in my area for decades and there used to be many 😢
Nicely done, lad. They are beautiful, and remind me somewhat of an ibis. I'm glad to hear of the captive breeding program, and hope it helps restore their numbers.
I hunt migrant waterfowl at a mud flat fjord in Denmark. Its a lot of cold and wet hours in a lay out boat. I always love just watching the curlews and the Call is comforting
Do you hunt them for food or sport?
Another great video Liam 👍 I'll have to keep an eye out for these beauties next time I find myself south.
thank you Liam I do enjoy your video such a great watch
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed this and my sparrowhawk video. Im now working on the next which isnt a fact file but hopefully you will enjoy that too.
Thank you so much. I love all of your videos!
Another great video
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it!
There neat . Thankyou .
Cheers, thank you for watching!
@@AShotOfWildlife your welcome and thankyou .
Nice one Liam
Thanks yet again Liam. Beautiful birds especially in flight. I live in the south of France and we very occasionally see them on the flats around the mouth of the Rhone in the Carmargue. Habitat is a big issue for many waders now isn’t it.
Ta again Liam. Good to see you choosing curlew . They're definitely one of my top birds, not least because they have one of the most distinctive calls . They're one of the first birds which i could recognise by their call , and this was helped by the fact that theyre big enough for a beginner to spot them relatively easily (as opposed to all the " little brown jobs" which i found almost impossible to begin with....and still struggle with ) and by the way they frequently call whilst circling overhead. Ps. Off topic here, but "got" my waxwings in Leighton Buzzard yesterday. Near McDonald's in case anyone's interested. Light wasnt great, but still beautiful birds.
Just starting bird watching. Don't know why it took me so long to find out I would love this hobby. Love your videos. Excellent footage, crisp clear narration great info on all your videos. Straight to the point. Ur my go to guy lol 😆
Beautiful birds.
Happy New Year. A great start with a great video
Super
Great Video 👍👍👍👍👍
I've just watched a pair harassing our resident buzzard, I'm keen to learn more, great information thanks. BTW Northern lake district
In Australia we have a species called the Bush stone-curlew. Quite dissimilar to these though, being shot beaked, long legged, mainly nocturnal birds which have a blood curdling call. Check them out. I've had them attack my legs in pitch dark without warning protecting their chicks. Scared the crap out of me - I thought it was a drop bear and prepared to die.
👍👍👍👍👍 Nice vid
This is amazing my daughter who lives in the UK sent a photograph of a curlew yesterday and then your video pops up what a coincidence. They are certainly beautiful birds. Thank you Liam for another informative video and a very Happy New Year to you and your family.
No way! Saw one today for the first time in years. What a coincidence
Perfect timing!
Great video once again, Liam. Also is that the Breydon Waters Haunt I see you are in there? It’s my local reserve and I love visiting whenever I can especially over the winter months when the wintering birds join us. Perhaps one day I’ll see you there! Take care.
Well spotted, I did wonder if anyone would recognise where I was. It was the wrong tide during that visit so not much to see, but I am moving closer to that area soon so will probably be in there more often, and elsewhere locally. Cheers
Thank you. A distinctive call, it could sound a bit ‘Curliiiiw!! Don’t you think?
You're welcome. I dont hear it at all to be honest... but people interpret noises differently. I have a friend who is polish and recently she tried to make a cats meow as it would be in her language, it was nothing at all like a meow noise lol.
An old farmer i knew called them peewits, or as he pronounced it pewwits( like church pew) . Theyre building houses in a local spot, where they live, ( not clever on marshes) , despite opposition. Thanks for that though, it was really interesting.
Oh wow. I have heard lapwings called Peewits but have never heard the name being used for Curlews. I bet that has caused some confusion in the past.
Thank you for watching!
West Yorkshire used to be the home for many curlews, but the massive influx of red kites has all but put them on the endangered list.
I am not sure it can be blamed entirely (if at all) on the recolonization of red kites. Curlew have declined drastically here in Norfolk and for most areas here, red kites are still a very rare sight.
Red kites are more common than sparrows here in North Leeds! I enjoy the vids, keep them coming, xx
👏👍😊🥰
i think the name must have come from the bill!
Over new year I saw a curlew on the banks of the Mersey estuary, wirral, it was fairly close so got a good view. But then again was it a Wimberal? This vid definately clarified the difference, the black eye stripe would be a good identifier. Interesting to know whether the Wimberal is suffering the same decline as the curlew. Curlews are also a bit different for coastal waders in that they go in land more, there are quite a few around the North Yorkshire moors.
Nice
Really interested to hear you use the word "aforestation", not something I have heard about before. How much of a threat is poorly-managed (or even well-managed) aforestation to wildlife populations in the UK? Are we trying TOO hard to reforest areas when we shouldn't be?
I guess he is reefring to the monocultural conifer plnatations.
Have you done/ can you do an all you need to know about nuthatches please. After twelve years here a couple have just found our bride feeders. Thanks 👍
I havent done one yet, I will see if theres enough footage available and if there is, I will definitely make one soon. Thanks.
I've heard that call before and got it confused with oystercatchers, particularly if I couldn't see the source!
Hi Liam, thanks for the info on Curlews. I see them where I live from time to time. I wanted to ask you about Black Swans. We had a visit by a family of four where we live for the last few days. I know they are originally from Australia, but I’ve never seen them before in the wild before (I love a long the south coast). Any info would be gratefully appreciated. Many thanks.
Nice video, Liam. As always. Can anyone tell me what the small birds are at 4:24, please?
Thank you.
That clip is one of the creative commons clips I used so I am not 100% on all of the birds there (its from outside of the UK) but I belive they are mostly Lesser Sand Plovers and Turnstones.
@@AShotOfWildlife Lesser sand plover, eh? That’s a new one for me. What a lovely little bird. Thanks, Liam.
You need to know that the Scottish name for the curlew is the whaup !
Thank you!
You always start these videos with the phrase "almost everything you need to know about.." like there's some secret you're keeping from us. What are you hiding Liam? Are you in league with Big Bird?
Haha, well.... I used to start by saying "Everything you need to know about" but a few people disagreed and wanted to know more or thought I had missed things out. So I started saying "Almost" with a lot of emphasis to cover all basis.