Breckland Breeding Bonanza
This year saw the biggest
increase in the number of breeding stone-curlews in the Breckland area of Norfolk and Suffolk since the protection project began in
1986.
The RSPB/English Nature stone-curlew project recorded an increase of 22 pairs, from 113 pairs in 2003 to 135 pairs in
2004. Productivity ? the number of chicks fledged per pair - was rather average, with 84 fledged young in total, or 0.62 fledged per
pair. Wet summer weather probably reduced survival of young birds to just below the 0.7 young per pair needed to maintain the
population.
Elsewhere in East Anglia, away from the stronghold of Breckland, there was a slight decrease in mid-Norfolk and
an increase on the Suffolk coast. In mid-Norfolk, eight pairs fledged four young compared with ten and six in 2003. In East
Suffolk, six confirmed nesting pairs fledged four young, compared with five and four last year. There has been no confirmed breeding
south Cambridgeshire since 1999.
On the Elveden Estate in Suffolk, the most important part of the Brecks not covered by the RSPB/English Nature stone-curlew project, 48 pairs fledged 33 chicks. (Information courtesy of Elveden Estate Office). Adding the 135 pairs recorded by RSPB/English Nature stone-curlew project to the Elveden Estate`s 48 pairs gives a minimum of 183 pairs of stone-curlews in the Suffolk and Norfolk Brecks in 2004. This is about two-thirds of the UK population of around 290 pairs. As well as in East Anglia, stone-curlews are found in Wessex (Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire) where another RSPB protection project has helped a recovery of numbers to 93 pairs in 2004.
A stone-curlew that almost
certainly over-wintered was an unusual record. The bird was colour-ringed as a chick in 2003, was seen in the Brecks as late as
mid-January and then stayed around to nest in the Brecks this spring. The classic book about Breckland, W G Clarke`s `In Breckland
Wilds` (published in 1925), mentions occasional stone-curlew overwintering.
The RSPB says that the work of farmers and
landowners in Breckland is vital for stone-curlews. The key factor in the recovery of the stone-curlew is nest protection,
especially for those nesting in crops such as sugar beet and potatoes. Working closely with farmers, nests are found and safeguarded
from damage by tractor hoeing and other agricultural operations.
The stone-curlew declined
rapidly from an estimated 1,000-2,000 pairs in the 1930s to only 150-160 by 1985. Conservation work then halted their decline, and
since 1994 numbers have steadily grown, topping 200 pairs in 1998 for the first time since the 1970s.
The Government`s
Biodiversity Action Plan set a target of 200 pairs of stone-curlews by the year 2000, reached ahead of schedule in 1998. The plan
also set a target of 300 pairs by 2010. The plan encourages re-colonisation of its past UK breeding range which includes parts of
west and north Norfolk, the Suffolk coast and south Cambridgeshire.
For further information contact: Tim Cowan, RSPB
stone-curlew project officer 01842 821787 Chris Durdin or Rob Lucking, RSPB Eastern England office 01603 660066 Nick Sibbett, English
Nature, Bury St Edmunds 01284 762218
Created: 6th Dec 2004
