Volume 5 Issue 1 SUPPORTING April 2018 SHOREBIRD Wader Quest the newsletter CONSERVATION Forthcoming talks: All ‘Wader Curlews and the Dartmoor Upland Wader Summit Quest’ unless otherwise stated. — Rick Simpson 19/04/2018 Nuneaton and District ‘Wader conservation is Birdwatchers’ Club about so much more than a cute bird with a funny little bill in the 25/04/2018 St Lawrence Wlidlife and Photography Club (New Moon far flung corners of Asia’. on the Wane — The Curse of the I wrote these words in Curlews) 2013 as our travels, in search of waders, revealed the extent to 08/05/2018 Lichfiled RSPB local which waders are being pushed group to the margins in every habitat 06/06/2018 Northamptonshire Bird that they frequent. I was Club (Plover Lover’s World of referring then, above all, to the Delights) decline in the British population of Northern Lapwings Vanellus 11/09/2018 Friends of Welney vanellus. Those words however have once again taken on a great Wader Quest meets HRH Prince Charles at the Upland Wader Summit 20/09/2018 Mid Nene RSPB local significance as we look at the group — © Charles Sainsbury-Plaice crisis that is engulfing the very 05/10/2018 Leigh Ornithological familiar, and much loved, available on the 21st of April, its converse for a short time as he Society Eurasian Curlew Numenius launch aimed to coincide with moved among the delegates. arquata. another of Mary’s projects The conclusions from 18/10/2018 Bristol Ornithological On pages 6 and 7 you World Curlew Day. the event were fairly Club can read about the Welsh Recently we were predictable; survival rates of Curlew Conference which we invited to another Curlew adults are holding up, but that of 06/11/2018 East Lancashire were sadly unable to attend. It convention, this time hosted by chicks is far too low resulting in a Ornithologists’ Club (Confessions of was organised by Friend of the Duchy of Cornwall and declining, ageing and geriatric s Bird Guide) Wader Quest Mary Colwell, who entitled the Dartmoor Upland population. The reasons for this 07/11/2018 Trent and Lower has done more than any other Wader Summit. Although the are primarily a lack of suitable Derwent Derbyshire Wildlife Trust individual to promote the cause title suggests a more general habitat and high predation rates. local group of the Curlew, theme the main topic was the We were treated to a Mary has also written a decline of the Curlew and what number of excellent talks kicked For a more complete listing with book Curlew Moon which can be done to save them from a off by Friend of Wader Quest times and venue details visit our concerns the Curlew, its fate worse than death; Tom Orde-Powlett who talked Talks page on the website. problems and her five hundred extinction. about the wintering Curlews to If we are giving a talk near you mile walk across Ireland, Wales The summit was be found in Wensleydale come and see us. and England, to raise awareness attended by His Royal Highness between September and about them. You’ll find a review The Prince of Wales with whom February. He pointed out that on page 23. This book will be we had the opportunity to silage, generally thought of as a menace as far as breeding waders are concerned, can Inside this issue: actually be advantageous in the Upland Wader Summit 1-2 winter, particularly if treated Wader Quest News 3 with slurry, providing vital Featured Photo; Eurasian Curlew 4 feeding areas in lowland habitat. World Curlew Day 5 This was followed by Welsh Curlew Conference 6-7 Amanda Perkins of the Proud to be Bird Aware; success in The Stiperstones Curlew project Solent 8-9 Curlew Country in Shropshire. Waders in Navarra 10-11 Part of her presentation was World Green Birding record attempt 12-13 about predation and the Sending US an SOS 14-17 difficulty of acquiring funding for Wader Ringing in Portugal 18-19 that contentious aspect of the More colour ringed waders 20-21 project. The most remarkable Research on Bar-tailed Godwits 21-22 image of the presentation was Book Review; Curlew Moon 23 Eurasian Curlew — Elis Simpson however of a sheep eating a Cairns Esplanade 24-25 Featured Artist 26 Wader Quest Anniversary Raffle 27 Wader Quest Privacy Policy 28 Wader photo gallery 29 Total raised by Wader Quest to date: £21,389.42 Contact details and sponsors 30 © Wader Quest 2018. All rights reserved. Page 2 Wader Quest the newsletter Curlews and the Dartmoor Upland Wader Summit — cont’d clutch of Curlew’s eggs, not what you’d typically think of in terms of nest robbers. She also recounted the tale of an accidental hand rearing of some chicks that hatched before suitable foster parents could be found under which the eggs could be placed. All these headstarted chicks fledged and were successfully released. Dr David Douglas of the RSPB reiterated the statistics surrounding the Curlew’s decline and summed them up by saying a pair needs to fledge a chick every two years for numbers to remain stable. With regard to predators he pointed out that the UK had the highest density of Carrion Crows Corvus corone in Europe and the second highest when it came to foxes. When considering why there are so Carrion Crow — Elis Simpson many and how they survive he suggested that looking at the impact that releasing some is that it is expensive, treats the symptoms admiration for the bird and mentioned that thirty-five million pheasants each year into and not the cause and there is a risk that when he visits Scotland it is the call of the the environment may have on providing released birds may introduce disease into an Curlew, sound he finds haunting and magical, sustenance for this excessive population of already small population in the wild. which lifts his spirits. top predators. Dr Andrew Hoodless, of the GCWT He suggested that since the then told us about predator control and that message about the mess plastics are creating this alone was not the silver bullet, declines in our seas was raised by a film, lamenting over the long term were caused by drainage, that people don’t want to learn by reading sward improvement, earlier mowing, any more, perhaps a series of films about the converting grass to arable, change in livestock decline of waders would be useful. Mary density and forestry plantation in addition to Colwell, in her capacity as a television predation. This combination of habitat loss producer, said that the subject was not ‘sexy’ and high predation meant reduced breeding enough to attract funding. To this the Prince success. replied ‘Well I think Curlews are sexy, hellish We then heard about the Dartmoor sexy!’ Wader Project, where five upland wader species were discussed by Jon Avon. European Golden Plovers, Pluvialis apricaria, ceased to breed on Dartmoor in 2008, Dunlins, Calidris alpina, on the other hand have increased to about fifteen to twenty pairs. Northern Lapwings have declined along with the Curlews with only one breeding site with five breeding females. Curlews are, as we have seen, doing badly, there is just one pair now breeding on Dartmoor although there are four territory holding males. The last successful fledging was in 2016. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago are at least stable and may be His Royal Highness Prince Charles slightly increasing. Andrew Sells, the Chairman of Next to speak was Geoff Hilton of Natural England, spoke about his desire that the WWT who gave us the inside story on the organisation could do more to help and headstarting, when it works and when it does Kevin Cox the Chairman of the RSPB outlined not. He summed up the technique as being what they have already done and where the Eurasian Curlew — Elis Simpson very effective and cited the example of the organisation saw the problems, which was British Black-tailed Godwits in the joint RSPB/ pretty much in line with everyone else in the Continuing the theme of the WWT Project Godwit. Thirty-eight wild Black- room. trashing of the world by humanity he pointed tailed Godwits Limosa limosa fledged just Following input from the floor out that the plastics were not our only sin, twenty-five young while just eight clutches Prince Charles gave a summary of his and that a combination of the destructive removed for headstarting realised twenty- thoughts and opinions concerning the Curlew activities we are carrying out is disastrous. His five fledglings. The down side of this method and its demise. He also expressed his summary was warmly received. © Wader Quest 2018. All rights reserved. Volume 5 Issue 1 Page 3 Wader Quest News In other news; January was quiet with just a couple of talks, one in East Surrey and other in Bucks, both RSPB local groups, plus the first Trustee meeting of the year. February was a little livelier starting with an interesting event held by the The Parks Trust for its Junior Rangers at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve in Newport Pagnell. We were invited along to talk to the youngsters about the different bill shapes that waders posses and how this demonstrates the kind of feeding technique the bird uses. After a couple more talks at the Wokingham and Bracknell RSPB local group and the Marylebone Bird Club we held our, Rick Simpson discussing the various types of waders and their feeding mechanisms to Parks Trust Junior now annual, Quiz Night in Simpson Village Rangers using old-fashioned, low-tech, chalk illustrations on a blackboard — Elis Simpson Hall in Milton Keynes.