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Eastern England Stone-curlew Recovery Project
The objective of the project is to reverse the decline in the number of stone-curlews in Eastern England. The national stone-curlew population declined by over 85% between the 1940’s and 1980’s to just 150-160 pairs, mainly due to loss of their preferred, grass heathland habitat. Most stone-curlews in Eastern England now nest on arable land, where intervention from RSPB and farmers is required to prevent destruction of eggs and chicks during farming operations.
Stone-curlews are found in areas with light, free draining, stony soils. In Eastern England these are the sandy soils of Norfolk and Suffolk and the chalky soils of South Cambridgeshire, North Hertfordshire and North Essex. We would be very pleased to offer free advice to any farmers in these areas wishing to provide habitat for stone-curlews.
Project objectives
- We hope to achieve a sustainable and healthy sized stone-curlew population through the following measures;
- Working with farmers to protect nests and chicks on arable land
- Assisting farmers with Environmental Stewardship applications and providing ongoing advice in order to establish a network of 'safe' stone-curlew nesting areas on farmland, through the provision of fallow nest plots
- Encouraging the restoration and creation of grass heathland habitat for stone-curlews
Key dates so far
- 1985- Start of stone-curlew Recovery Project
- 2000- Breckland Farmland SSSI designated
- 2005- National population over 300 pairs
- 2009- Stone-curlew moved from 'Birds of Conservation Concern' red list to amber list
Work planned or underway
Continuation of annual monitoring and protection work during the breeding season
Ongoing advice and assistance with Environmental Stewardship Applications
Results
National stone-curlew population increased from 150-160 pairs in 1985 to over 400 pairs in 2011.
In Eastern England the population has increased from fewer than 100 pairs in 1985 to 250 pairs in 2010, and circa 280 pairs in 2011.
Image gallery
stone curlews (Tim Cowan)
Who to contact
Tim Cowan
Breckland Stone Curlew Project Officer
E-mail: tim.cowan@rspb.org.uk