Endangered stone-curlews brought 'back from the brink' in Breckland
Farmers have helped bring endangered stone-curlews "back from the brink" in East Anglia, with breeding pairs doubling in the last four decades, said conservationists.
The RSPB is celebrating the 40th anniversary of a project to reverse the decline of this rare and threatened bird, by working in tandem with farmers and landowners.
Once found widely throughout England, stone-curlew numbers declined through the 19th and early 20th century as their heathland nesting habitats were lost - and by 1985 there were fewer than 100 breeding pairs nationwide.
This prompted the launch of the RSPB Eastern England Stone-curlew Project, targeting the species' strongholds in the Brecks, as well as other parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
The project has worked closely with farmers and landowners to recreate hundreds of hectares of grass heathland, and protect nests on arable land from destruction during farming operations, supported by a team of RSPB volunteers.
The RSPB is currently working with 57 landowners in East Anglia to monitor and protect about 230 stone-curlew nests per year.
Farmers are also encouraged to create specially-managed plots of bare ground within arable land for stone-curlew breeding, to keep eggs and chicks safe from agricultural activities.
As a result, the number of breeding pairs has increased to an estimated 226 in the east of England in 2024.
An adult stone-curlew away from its nest on a plot managed specially for it (Image: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)) RSPB conservation officer Tim Cowan said: "The willingness of farmers and landowners to work with the project and our dedicated volunteers by creating and protecting stone-curlew breeding sites over the past four decades, has been remarkable.
"Simply put, this work couldn't have been done without them and our fellow partner organisations. The success of the stone-curlew project is proof that by working together we can make space for nature, if we really want to.
"We look forward to continued work towards establishing a sustainable population of stone-curlew in the Brecks."
Stone-curlews prefer to nest on open, bare or sparsely vegetated ground with light, stony soils - and they are very sensitive to disturbance.
In the east of England their preferred nesting habitat is semi-natural, heavily-grazed grass heathland, much of which had previously been lost to development or conversion to forestry or arable farmland, while remaining areas deteriorated due to lack of grazing by livestock and rabbits - forcing more stone-curlews to nest on arable land.
The RSPB says, in 2023, 46pc of all confirmed stone-curlew breeding attempts monitored by this project were on grass heathland and specially-created nesting plots - many funded through government agri-environment schemes.
The project is part of a wider collaboration in the east of England including RSPB, Natural England, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Forestry England, and the Ministry of Defence.
Stone-curlew adults changing over sitting duties at their nest on a plot managed specially for them (Image: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com))
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