Upcoming Bird Surveys 2: Lincolnshire Airfields Curlew Survey March 2024

Curlews have never been a common or widespread breeding bird in Lincolnshire with the number of pairs put at between 30-50 over the last 40 years. There have been no confirmed breeding reports in the Lincolnshire Bird Report since 2016. The news that large numbers of Curlew eggs were being taken from Lincolnshire RAF stations from 2021 onwards for the purposes of hatching “head started” Curlews to be released in other parts of the country, principally Norfolk where they would hopefully start new populations or boost faltering ones, therefore came as a surprise and even shock to Lincolnshire birders.

One part of the shock was realising how little we know about breeding Lincolnshire Curlews, especially as Curlew is now a red-listed species. To try and rectify our lack of knowledge LBC will be conducting a survey jointly with Natural England and the RAF Ornithological (who have access to the RAF airfields themselves). The aims of the survey are as follows:

1. Identify areas where Curlew breed in and around airfields and the habitats they use.
2. Assess the number of breeding pairs in these areas.
3. Assess the productivity of Curlews on airfields and around them.
4. On RAF sites where clutches are collected what proportion of the birds lay second clutches and up to what dates.
5. Determine sites where “headstarted” birds might be released and have a safe future in Lincolnshire where their breeding success could be maximised.
6. Appeal to LBC members for a wider qualitative look at whether Curlews are breeding successfully at any of the other sites they have bred in since 2011.
7. Achieve a stable/growing Curlew population in Lincolnshire

The survey will be based on tetrads around the following airfields:

If you would like to take part in the survey and receive a copy of the research information and survey details including squares to be covered, please email the survey organiser Phil Espin on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Each tetrad square will need 2 visits lasting 2 hours each from the same person, one during mid-March to April 30^th and the second during 1 May to June 15^th. If Curlews are present in May, a final visit to check for well grown young will be done from June 21^st to July 15^th.  If you have a particular interest in a specific site please get in quick to ensure you can cover the sites you need. Previous experience shows that one observer can easily cover 2 adjacent tetrads in one morning visit. Data will be collected via Birdtrack or ebird lists of all species recorded, using the appropriate breeding codes to reflect the behaviour noted.

All the sites to be covered by LBC are in the west of the county but all members can take part by going into their local countryside and recording the presence or absence of Curlews showing breeding behaviour during mid March to mid June. Visits to areas that have previously held breeding Curlews would be particularly welcome. These are described in the research note so if you are interested please do email Phil Espin to obtain a copy.