Irish curlew
Photo by Annemarie Loof By Mary Colwell. I can’t think of a more Irish bird than the Curlew, that singer of bitter-sweet songs over fields and bogs that heralds the start of warmer days. Come April, the bubbling call builds into a crescendo of urgent notes, at once sad and ecstatic, and it never fails …
Webinar summary: cost of a curlew
By Lottie Trewick In the latest Curlew Action webinar, The Cost of a Curlew, we took a closer look at the economics of nature. A complicated and sometimes controversial topic; some argue putting a price on nature is the best way to save it, whilst others regard it as another cog in the wheel of …
Curlews in europe
By Mary Colwell The Eurasian Curlew is such an important indicator of the health of landscapes, not just in the very western end of its range in the UK and Ireland, but right across Europe. This is a bird that breeds on the wet peat bogs of Southern Ireland and across the wild steppes of …
foxes and game birds
In October 2022 we held a webinar on Curlews and Predators. Predation of Curlew eggs and chicks is one of the leading causes of their decline. It is an emotive and complicated topic to discuss, but it is important these discussions are held so that we can get closer to the solution of such a …
kindness
Written by Mary Colwell. I’d like to think there is one thing we can all agree on – at a time of mounting ecological stress where species are thinning out or disappearing at an unprecedented rate, everyone should be much kinder to the natural world. And I use that word ‘kinder’ with care. Kind has …
mary colwell awarded prestigious rspb medal
Mary Colwell is the Founder and Director of Curlew Action. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the plight of the Curlew. For eleven years, she spearheaded the campaign for a GCSE in Natural History, which was confirmed earlier this year and will be in schools from September 2025. The team at Curlew Action …
Umbrella species: why saving curlew helps more than curlew
Anyone who has heard the call of the Curlew knows they are worth protecting in their own right, their evocative, eerie cry across a moor or a mudflat belongs to the soul of our wild places. To add to their significance as an iconic and much loved British bird, they are what is known as …
Umbrella species: why saving curlew helps more than curlew Read More »
GCSE In natural history confirmed!
“A GCSE in Natural History is a unique opportunity for young people to engage with wildlife in a structured, guided way, to learn the skills of a naturalist at a time when we need them more than ever. I am so delighted it is, at last, a reality.” – Mary Colwell At a meeting of …
At the Very End of the Road
Blog post by Ellen Bradley & Phillip Edwards The impact that the natural world has on our air quality, our soil fertility and our water purity is, by now, well understood. But what about our culture? For millennia, the wildlife around us has been inspiring poets, artists and writers. Without the astonishing array of plants, …
Young people draw lines in the sand over nature loss
Following their hugely successful 2021 campaign, Natural Kingdom: Wild Walls, UK Youth for Nature, the UK’s leading youth group calling on governments and politicians to tackle the loss of nature, is once again sending a clear message to our government that nature cannot wait. Last year, Curlew Action supported the youth group with their campaign …
Young people draw lines in the sand over nature loss Read More »