A group of people concerned about the future of an under-threat bird are celebrating success.
Residents and farmers based in the Lorton Valley launched the The Melbreak Curlew Recovery Project in April.
Curlew are faithful to their nest site, returning year after year. Once common in areas across the Cumbria, the curlew has suffered catastrophic decline.
The iconic bird faces is now on the red list of the UK Conservation Status Report.
Part of The Melbreak Communities initiative, a grant from the Lake District National Park Authority and advice and training from the South Lakes Curlew Recovery Project, enabled the Curlew Recovery Group to buy and effectively use the equipment required.
With the help and co-operation of local farmers, volunteers and a dedicated fencing team, four curlew nests were identified, protected from predators, and monitored.
Eleven chicks were successfully hatched and later carefully ringed by a local expert from The British Trust for Ornithology.
David Gardiner, of the project, said: “We are thrilled to have been able to protect some of these beautiful, endangered and vulnerable birds. We look forward to building on our success, so that the haunting spring call of the curlew will be heard for generations to come.”
Tim Newton, a local farmer on whose land a curlew nest was protected, added: “I am delighted to be part of this important project and hope we hear many more curlews in the valleys in the future.”
For more information about the Melbreak Curlew Recovery Project, or to be involved, contact David via davidj.gardiner@btinternet.com
Project members will also be at Loweswater Show on Sunday, September 1.
