Durham Bird Club at 50
The county avifauna, The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) records that “A public meeting in late 1974 at Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery to discuss bird watching and recording was well-attended. This was followed on 8 January 1975 by another meeting and enrolment for membership of the Durham Bird Club began shortly afterwards.”
We shall be organising various projects and events during the year to commemorate this special anniversary. These include a "Bird of the Week" feature, appearing below.
Bird of the Week - Week 9
Curlew – The Sound of Wild Places
(Photo by Mark Harper)
There’s nothing quite like the call of a Curlew. That long, bubbling, mournful cry drifting over the landscape is one of the most evocative sounds in nature, a sure sign that spring is returning to County Durham’s moors and upland meadows.
The Curlew is the UK’s largest wader, with its long legs, streaked brown plumage, and distinctive downcurved bill - perfect for probing into mud and wet ground for invertebrates. In flight, Curlews combine grace and power, with deep, deliberate wingbeats on long, pointed wings, giving them a distinctively slow but purposeful movement through the air. Their white, cigar-shaped rump patch flashes as they take off, a noticeable feature even at a distance. In spring, their display flights are a true spectacle - soaring high before gliding down in wide arcs, all the while pouring out that unforgettable, rolling call.
Curlews nest on the ground, laying beautifully camouflaged, heavily pointed eggs hidden among moorland grasses. Their chicks are incredibly mobile, leaving the nest within hours of hatching. Over the next few weeks, they go through a remarkable transformation - first freezing at the slightest danger, then running for cover, then feeding independently, before finally taking flight after just over a month. Observing a young Curlew fledge is a special experience - one that is becoming rarer, as breeding success declines.
Curlew numbers across the UK have fallen sharply, making them one of the UK’s highest conservation priorities. Reasons for the decline of this exceptionally long-lived species are many and interconnected with loss of nesting habitat due to the draining of bogs and wetlands and changes in farming practices having had significant impacts. Increased prevalence of early grass-cutting on farmland destroys nests before chicks can fledge, while increased nest disturbance and predation puts further pressure on already struggling populations.
County Durham remains an important stronghold, especially for breeding birds in our upland areas and on pasture lands along the lower Tees and across the eastern part of the County for overwintering populations. However, without careful conservation, we risk losing this incredible bird from our landscapes as populations become increasingly aged and reduced towards critically unsustainable numbers.
Have you seen or heard a Curlew yet this year? Let us know in the comments! And if you’ve got a recording of their unmistakable call, we’d love to hear it.
E-mail: durhambirdclub@gmail.com
Social media tags: #DurhamBirdClub #DBC #DBCat50 #Durham #Birding
