Memories of the filming phase with the RSPB Life Curlew Project officers, during the making of the Curlew campaign film, Stunned by Silence – by Malka Holmes, Greengage Films & Curlew Action Ambassador
The Uplands of North Wales 2023-24
Curlew breeding Season 1
I remember I was quite excited when I got the first pin-drop from Sam McCready the RSPB Life Curlew Project Officer; it was for a meeting point with him in a remote lay-by next to an extensive area of moorland in North Wales. When I first met him I was struck by his engaging manner and enthusiasm. There I was, weighed down by a large amount of heavy camera kit following Sam across vast expanses of moorland.
I wasn’t quite prepared for the mileage we had to cover or the barbed wire fences we had to climb over.
Intermittently Sam would raise his radio tracking antenna to the sky to see if he could pick up any signals of the tagged Curlew chicks. Once he had detected some chicks he would catch them and put them in bags.
Intermittently Sam would raise his radio tracking antenna to the sky to see if he could pick up any signals of the tagged Curlew chicks. Once he had detected some chicks he would catch them and put them in bags.
He would then sit in amongst the damp rushes or heather to check the chicks for ticks, he would also measure and weigh them. It was fascinating, the chicks were beautiful, small, fluffy replicas of their parents with their extremely long legs and beaks.
One day, after we had covered a large expanse of heather moorland, Sam and his colleague had their hands full so they, very briefly, handed me the bag with the curlew chick in it.
I remember feeling a sense of elation, I was actually holding a Curlew chick, a tiny treasure. I felt very honoured that they had passed me the bag. They weren’t always a happy moments when we located the chicks. One day Sam picked up a signal that sadly led us to a predated chick. He then had the task of swabbing the chick remains and the plucked tag to gather samples for DNA analysis so that the predator could be identified. The first season was filled with discovery, I think I got fitter! The experience was incredible, following Sam along winding roads and dusty tracks and when they ended, we left our vehicles behind and headed off across the rough terrain of the Curlew breeding habitat.
The air was filled with the Curlew’s call and Skylark song, this was the soundtrack to our upland exploration.
I remember thinking that I could not ever imagine the uplands without this sound.
Curlew breeding Season 2
This time I was greeted by Lucy Foster, an RSPB Life, Curlew project officer. She led me to an enclosure, a temporarily fenced off area on an expanse of beautiful peatland. She pointed out the Curlew on her nest inside the enclosure and showed me the distance I could film from.
I remember watching the dedication of this Curlew, she would often try to protect her nest warding off circling Red Kites.
I was completely alone up there with the Curlew’s call on the wind, sometimes a Wheatear, with their beautiful bold colour, would land on the old drystone wall behind me or a Stonechat would perch on a gorse bush.
I was completely alone up there with the Curlew’s call on the wind, sometimes a Wheatear, with their beautiful bold colour, would land on the old drystone wall behind me or a Stonechat would perch on a gorse bush.
This was the closest thing to wilderness you could get.
Dragonflies and Damselflies flew on the breeze and even a male Hen Harrier graced me with his presence, his pale body a striking contrast to the subdued colours of the peatland. He seemed completely unfazed by my presence as he hunted gracefully right in front of me.
Kestrels would often hover on the horizon.
The Curlew calls would rise and fall sometimes close by, other times in the far distance.
Up here in this wild place my Father’s Curlew poem came into my head.
The Curlew calls would rise and fall sometimes close by, other times in the far distance.
Up here in this wild place my Father’s Curlew poem came into my head.
CurlewWith boomerang-shaped wingscuts sky.skater set in motionby a sheet of ice.Alone with his ownweird bubbling whistle,steers, bow-beaked,past grazing cloud,isolates day and land.Combines sound and silence,brushes air with soft vigour,slides across sloe-blue hills –vehicle of wind’s roaring breath.– Clyde Holmes
Lucy showing me this nest gave me a greater insight into the vulnerability of the Curlew nesting on the ground under the huge expanse of sky. Each time I went up there she would be sitting on her nest. Then after many dedicated weeks Lucy told me that this nest had been predated. It was such a sad moment and brought home to me what a fragile balance it is for the Curlew to survive as a species.
One of the main reasons for the Curlew declines is the change of land management.
One of the main reasons for the Curlew declines is the change of land management.
Agriculture has intensified over recent decades, this has impacted the Curlew’s success as a breeding bird. Predation is also a factor in the Curlew declines. There are only a few pockets of habitat left that are suitable for the breeding Curlew. This population of Curlew here in North Wales is one of the last key populations of Curlew left in the world. As I packed up my cameras and walked through the heather I had a sense of the fragility of this upland habitat and the life that depends upon it. Although it felt so timeless on these moorlands, there are so many changes taking place that are negatively impacting our wildlife. The rapid Curlew decline is symbolic of the delicate ecological balance that is needed for the survival of all living things. As human beings we cannot continue to separate ourselves from the natural world as we are all intrinsically part of it.
I walk all day.
Mountains still before me,same colours near and far.
Chestnut-tinged blobs of peat,setting sun rises as I climb,rays of amber and grub grey.– Clyde Holmes
About the author: The founder of Greengage Films, Malka Holmes, completed a BA (Hons) degree in fine art and design at Leeds Metropolitan University. After graduating she went on to work for RTL television in Germany, as a photographer. On her return to the UK she worked as a photographic assistant for the wildlife photographer, David Woodfall. She then specialised in moving imaging and worked as a camera assistant for Time Team C4, the BBC science department at White City in London, and the BBC specialist factual department in Cardiff. Malka then felt she wanted to pursue her career focusing entirely on the natural world. She started volunteering for the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, this included getting her hands dirty planting trees, hedge laying and outdoor education, this lead to Malka making films for NGO’s and charities, so the seed for Greengage Films was sown.