The curlew is one of our most iconic species and we have a huge challenge ahead if we are to stave off the extinction of this beautiful bird. This week I met some of the conservationists involved in our €25m Breeding Wader EIP as they prepared thirty ‘headstarted’ curlew chicks for release. So what is headstarting?
‘Headstarting’ involves collecting curlew eggs from wild birds’ nests, incubating them, then caring for and rearing the chicks in special pens until they are ready to be released back into the wild. Curlew chicks are especially vulnerable to predators, so this practice helps protect them at a critical early stage.
Over the next few weeks, this year’s chicks, thirty in total, will be released back into the wild in communities across the country, some of them with GPS tags fitted. That means that for the first time we’ll be able to track their progress, take care of them, and gain invaluable insights into their movements, habits, integration back into the wild population, and ultimately their survival.
GPS tagging headstarted waders, is a first in Ireland and we are hugely excited with the prospect of being able to monitor these birds on a daily basis.
The Breeding Waders EIP Project is proudly funded by our National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, but like so many of our nature restoration initiatives this project wouldn't be possible without the landowners, farmers and local communities who've got on board with it, so I'd like to give a special acknowledgement and thanks to them, and in particular to the community in Leitrim who gave me such a warm welcome this week.
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