Curlew Cam ends in despair

The chicks from the brood featured on Curlew Cam have disappeared and are believed to have been predated.

Mary Colwell, curlew campaigner and author of Curlew Moon, told Shooting Times: “Thousands of us were addicted to Curlew Country’s Curlew Cam… When the four chicks appeared, we were swooning as the large-footed balls of fluff tottered about and tried to escape into the wide world. After two days we were left bereft as the family left the nest.”

Two weeks later the tiny transmitters fixed to the backs of all four chicks went silent. The parents’ became subdued before disappearing back to the coast themselves. Another failed year.

This is the reality for curlews in Britain today. For four years the Shropshire camera has shown the same scenario, each year not one chick makes it to fledging.

“We don’t know what kills them, a combination of predators and/or farm machinery is most likely. I received many messages that repeated this story from around the country. There were some good news stories, but nowhere near enough.”

The four curlew chicks tracked on Curlew Country disappeared two weeks after fledging from the nest