Today's Object of the Week shines a spotlight on one of our most beautiful wading birds.
Last Friday (April 21) was World Curlew Day, so today's object is the logo of the nothernmost national park in England.
Wading birds, or waders, are a group of birds that mostly spend their spring and summer breeding in upland landscapes like Northumberland National Park and return to the sea or lower ground in the autumn/winter.
And Northumberland National Park is proud to have the curlew as its emblem.
Northumberland National Park is working with RSPB along the Hadrian’s Wall corridor – an area which remains a ‘hotspot’ for breeding curlew.
The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre is an ideal place to visit to hear the iconic ‘Call of the Curlew’ – it’s distinctive song can be heard from the rooftop walk.
By providing advice to landowners, the National Park and its partners hope to protect ground nesting birds as well as increase the area of suitable habitat for curlew.
Volunteers are supporting with monitoring efforts and activities and events are also taking place – check the website www.northumberlandnationalpark.org for the latest information in the what’s on section – www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.
The curlew is an incredibly fascinating bird. Did you know, for example, the beak - or bill - of a curlew is on average 15cm long?
They use these long, down curved bills to easily feed on the likes of worms, shellfish, insects and shrimps.
The female curlew is often bigger than the male curlew - and the females usually have bigger bills.
Sadly, the curlew is a species in decline. One way Northumberland National Park is protecting the curlew is by asking visitors to keep dogs on leads especially during spring (breeding season), so help reduce the risk of nests being disturbed.
Northumberland National Park conduct surveys to provide an estimate of the populations of breeding curlew, which helps us to take action to improve certain habitat areas.
World Curlew Day (April 21) is a grassroots initiative which champions the curlew worldwide.
Read about more Objects of the Week here:
- Beatles autographs from North East gig sell at auction - here's how much
- Shildon pub owner Daniel was was on the right tracks at the birth of the railways
- Why was holy object thrown into North-East river which held it secret for centuries?
Created by Mary Colwell in 2017, the day shines a light on the dangers curlews face as a result of shifting factors both globally and locally.
Many of these are factors deeply linked to human activity, such as land-use and climate change.
For more information, visit www.curlewaction.org/world-curlew-day/
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