Follow the call

The person in the mobile tent with a special torch and a steady hand is Katie Gibb. Originally from New Zealand, she’s been working for the RSPB in the Glenwherry area of the Antrim Hills for four years. Her team’s focus has been partnering with around 100 farmers to help Northern Ireland’s breeding Curlew numbers recover after crashing 83% since the late 1980s. It’s safe to say, she now has a bit of a soft spot for them.

She said: “I would describe them to anyone, especially to people back in New Zealand who ask, as kind of like kiwis on stilts with a curved bill. They feel very similar, they’ve got the same Muppety energy about them. They’re quite ridiculous but in a really endearing kind of way. I adore them.”

The Glenwherry area is one of the last strongholds for Northern Ireland’s curlews. In spring between 41-45 pairs return to the area to nest, having spent winter along the coast. That’s around 30% of the country’s entire breeding population.

The area’s importance is recognised by local farmers who are supported through the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) to farm their land in a way which benefits nature.

Katie said: “It means the farmers are working together for not only curlew but other nature on their land, such as Hen Harriers, Lapwing, Snipe as well as amazing numbers of Cuckoo and Meadow Pipit – the whole area is an absolute beautiful biodiversity hotspot.”

The decline of Curlew in Northern Ireland is mirrored across much of the UK. These are birds which breed best in wide open landscapes with a mosaic of habitats like rough grassland, blanket bog and wet and dry heathland. But as land has been developed or farmed more intensively these landscapes have vanished and generalist predators have increased.

With numbers becoming critically low, the Curlews in Crisis project was set up, with funding from EU Life. This gave Katie and her team the resources needed to take a much more hands-on approach to protecting each precious nesting site. But to protect a nest, first you must find it...

With the help and full support of local farmers, Katie and the team have surveyed almost 8,000 hectares of upland farms and grassland in the Glenwherry area. But while some nests are quite easy to spot, some are much more difficult.

Katie said: “Some females are an absolute nightmare to find, They’re really sneaky. They don’t just flush straight off the nest, they sneak and run really low to the ground and then take off, so it’s always fun trying to locate the exact spot.”

When the nests are found, the team set up electric fences around them to prevent predators taking the chicks. Katie then gets to work checking the clutch of three to five eggs in a technique known as candling.

Katie said: “Egg candling is pretty much an ultrasound for an egg. It’s a way to find out whether it is fertile or unfertile and how far along the egg development is. This is really important as we put these nest protections around them which are electric fences. But the bottom wire is really low to the ground, so we need to make sure that it’s lifted as hatching begins so the chicks can go in and out of the fenced area and not get a small shock - that’s not how you want to start life.”

To candle eggs, you need complete darkness. When you’re out on a hilly field, this means jumping inside a bespoke blackout tent.

“I just go in and I look ridiculous,” Katie said. “I know it and everyone accepts it and we just move on. But it allows me to have complete darkness so I can candle and get a really good look at those eggs.”

Once in the tent you need a nice bright light that doesn’t heat so you don’t harm the embryo. The first thing Katie checks is if the egg is fertile and then she examines the egg’s air cell to try and determine how old the egg is.

Katie said: “At the beginning the embryo is very close to the surface and when you shine the light, it just lights up. It is the most beautiful living glowing bundle of light when you see it. It is just so beautiful, I could go on for hours about it.”

With the eggs checked, and a rough due date known, Katie retreats from the nest so the females can return. Katie said: “Most of the girls are waiting on the other side of the fence by the time we finish. They know what we’re up to now. Not only are we learning about them, but they’re learning about what we’re doing and they’re a lot more chilled about it.”

The project has made a huge difference to the number of Curlew chicks fledging. In 2021, 28 chicks fledged and last year that jumped significantly again, with 69 chicks successfully raised.

Katie said: “We’ve produced more chicks in the last two years than the last seven years previously on this site, so it’s working, it’s working! It’s not often you get such an incredible win with conservation so it’s a real privilege to be working on this project.”

The project has EU funding until 2024 but Katie hopes it has performed so well and is so crucial to the success of Curlews in Northern Ireland, that it will continue long term.

She said: “It’s such a vital population and we’ve seen such incredible success. I think that it has worked because of the partnership with the farmers. They are so keen and so wonderful to work with. It’s an absolute privilege to work with those farmers and their families.”

Discover more about this wonderful species with an article from CurlewLIFE’s Becca Stewart.

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