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Conservation
Maintenance of low-intensity farming and dry grassland/heathland, as well as sympathetic land management within the stone-curlews range are essential conservation measures.
Since the mid-1980s the RSPB has employed fieldworkers to protect the nests and young of stone-curlews breeding on arable land. The fieldworkers locate the nests, temporarily mark them, make farmers and landowners aware of the rarity of the bird and the potential impacts of farming practice, and encourage farmers to help with conservation measures. Eggs and chicks are picked and up and kept safe during agricultural operations.
This work has proved to be crucial to the conservation of the species, and has increased the breeding success of pairs nesting on arable farmland by over a third.
Currently only about a half of the population breeds in semi-natural habitats, with the remainder nesting on arable land. Since both the breeding success and adult survival are often lower on arable land and the sustainability of this part of the population is not secure, it is a priority to increase the availability and suitability of semi-natural grassland for stone-curlews and increase the numbers and percentage of population that breeds in these habitats.
This is being achieved through land acquisition, management agreements, and policy and advisory work. Agri-environment schemes play an important role in the conservation of the stone-curlew.
The medium to long term aim is for the species to be secure and increasing without the need for direct nest and chick protection of arable nesting stone-curlews, which is currently essential for maintenance of the population.
Last modified: 22 July 2011