Yeats’s curlew faces extinction
ITS mournful cry has been such a distinctive part of rural Ireland that WB Yeats felt the urge to write a sorrowful poem about it.
‘O curlew, cry no more in the air,’ wrote the poet, and unfortunately his wish may come true, as it is feared that the bird’s numbers have fallen to their lowest-ever level.
Nature lovers say the fascinating wading bird could vanish from here in just ten years as there are only 100 breeding pairs left, a catastrophic decline from the 12,000 pairs recorded in 1990.
Despite the efforts of the Curlew Taskforce, set up a year ago, Niall Hatch, development officer with Birdwatch Ireland, has warned: ‘The clock is ticking for the curlew in Ireland. To save this species and stem the losses will be a mammoth task involving many stakeholders, most importantly Government, local landowners and nest protection groups working closely together. The way things are at the moment, the breeding population of curlew are at a real risk of extinction within ten years.’
Conservationists say the long-legged bird, recognisable by its slender downward bill and agonising cry, is now the most endangered in this country because of the disappearance of its natural wetland nesting grounds and the destruction of peat bogs. Mr Hatch added: ‘I think people maybe don’t realise how bad the situation is, because they see thousands of curlews round our coasts in the winter. But these birds have migrated and they are masking the real decline in breeding pairs.’ In a recent report the Curlew Task Force said: ‘The breeding population is at real risk of extinction.’ Comment – Page 12