Mary Colwell wanted to do
TV producer
MARTIN LUTHER KING once wisely said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”. That seems a sensible mantra for conservationists. The figures showing the decline of Curlews are indeed disappointing, to put it mildly. In the west of the British Isles, they are in dire straits. There has been a 97% crash in numbers in Ireland and 80% in Wales. County Sligo, the land where William Butler Yeats was inspired by the heart-rending call of a Curlew to write “He Reproves the Curlew” has not one breeding pair. Things in England are a little better, but not great, apart from a few areas in the north. The decline is so rapid they have been red-listed and become a species of conservation concern in the UK. Who would have thought it? Desmond Nethersole Thompson, the wader guru and author of Waders – Their Haunts and Watches, published in 1986, described watching them in Surrey, “bubbling and joy-flighting over the mires.” He would have a difficult time repeating that today. The only place they are found in the county of Surrey now is in Natural England’s Thursley National Nature Reserve, and there are only two pairs left. He even records in his childhood that, “a few pairs of Curlews always nested within 25 miles of my home in Chiswick.” Not any more. Well, we are where we are, but I do believe it can get better. We may not get back to the days of commuter-belt Curlews, but we can stabilise or even reverse the downward trend with political and public will and targeted management. After all, why would I walk 500 miles across the heart of the British Isles if I thought it was a lost cause? As a producer of wildlife programmes, most recently on Radio 4, I have tried to bring their plight to a wider audience, highlighting this issue in series like Saving Species and Shared Planet. But talking and interviewing only goes so far; important as it is to use the media to raise awareness. It is easy to be lulled into thinking you’ve done your bit by making a programme, but it is rare for radio or TV to really hit home and produce change. So, in December 2015, I looked to the year ahead and decided it was time to act. Buried in the shoe cupboard was a pair of good cross-trainers that my son had grown out of far too quickly. I dusted them off, fired up Google Maps and looked for Curlew country. I wanted to find places where Curlews are still doing well, and go to the areas where they are just a memory, thankfully still a living one. I also wanted to meet people who have been inspired by these lovely creatures to create beauty in whatever medium. A line from Sligo to the Wash, with a few wiggles, just about does it. This leaves out the all-important Scotland however, but Mary Colwell is walking 500 miles to raise funds and awareness for the Curlew