Comeback for curlews as young are protected from attack

BIRD watchers had feared the evocative call of the curlew being snuffed out as numbers plummeted in recent decades.

But a project has brought fresh hope that the species can be saved after measures were taken to protect chicks from predatory ravens.

Scottish Natural Heritage granted a five-year research licence to the Strathbraan community collaboration for waders, in Perthshire, in response to curlew numbers falling by 62 per cent in only two decades.

The management trial was opposed by many as it allowed up to 69 protected ravens to be taken this year in an effort to relieve predation pressure.

However, reports suggest the additional protection afforded to the wader chicks has already paid dividends.

Land managers yesterday predicted an ‘excellent year’ for the endangered waders, pictured. Nests in Strathbraan – which has been identified as a key site for waders – have seen the arrival of four curlew chicks this year amid optimism over the future for the birds.

Meanwhile, land managers say that raven predation pressure ‘seems to have been low this year’.

Gamekeeper Ronnie Kippen, whose ground falls within the licensed area, said: ‘We have barely seen a pair of curlew without chicks.

‘Oystercatcher numbers remain roughly the same, as we observe. However, curlew and lapwing have made a big shift.

‘The hens were in good breeding condition but the chicks have been much better protected.’

A recent Scottish Government funded report, Understanding Predation, concluded that ravens were predators of ground nesting birds and that urgent conservation measures were required.