Photo credit: John Fox
In this podcast Geoff Hilton, Head of Conservation Evidence at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge, gives a personal and emotional interview on why he is so passionate about saving the Curlews of Britain, especially in lowland and southern Britain.
Professor Ian Newton is a renowned ecologist. In this programme we talk about the enormous changes the British landscape has undergone since the beginning of the 20th Century and how that has affected ground-nesting birds like Curlew.
Irish Curlew Crisis
With Mary Colwell
Parks and Wildlife Service in Ireland. He has a tough job as recent surveys show a 97% decline in the last 40 years. There are now fewer than 150 pairs left.
Galloway curlews
With Mary Colwell
Farmer, author and conservationist, Patrick Laurie was born in Galloway and now farms there. Over the last 40 years this hidden-away part of Scotland has lost 80% of its curlews. Patrick gives an impassioned plea for us to love and protect places like Galloway and the wildlife that once thrived there.
Urban Curlews
With Mary Colwell
Street artist, ATM (otherwise known as Mark Anthony) was commissioned to paint an emblem of an endangered species in Tower Hamlets in London - on a railway arch. The result is a stunning work that brings the wild into the very heart of the city. In this short interview he explains why he chose curlews and what they mean to him. Please excuse the poor quality of sound, it was recorded remotely.
Far Eastern Curlews
With Mary Colwell
The Far Eastern Curlew is a phenomenal bird. The bill of the female can be 20 cm long. It spends the winter in Australasia and breeds in the north of China and Russia, and there are threats all the along the flyway. It is now critically endangered. Amanda Lilleyman is a researcher at the Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia, and is part of a team working to save them from extinction. Sound recording - Albert Lastukhin, Xeno-Canto Photo @LucasBrook
The Slender-billed Curlew
With Mary Colwell
The Slender-billed Curlew may now be a ghost in the landscape. Perhaps a few hang on - but they have not been seen for years. In this podcast, Mary Colwell talks to Horatio Clare, a writer who went in search of this tragic bird of the wild.
Photographing the Slender-billed Curlew
With Mary Colwell
The bird illustrating the podcast is of a Slender-billed Curlew. It is only one of a handful of photos known to exist. Shortly after Richard Porter took this, the Slender-billed disappeared and is feared extinct. Richard told me about his poignant encounter.
The Eastern Curlew
Curlew Action CEO Mary Colwell interviews Harry Saddler, author of Eastern Curlew (Hachette UK, 31 Jul 2018). This large wader is highly endangered. It migrates from Australia to the sub arctic each year, but habitat loss and some hunting has reduced its population by 80% in the last 30 years.
Eskimo Curlew Sighting
With Mary Colwell
The Eskimo Curlew is considered extinct. The last confirmed sightings were in the 1960s in Texas. There are however occasional unconfirmed reports. I talked to David Blankinship who believes he and a colleague saw a group of 23 on a remote island off the coast of Texas in 1981. Music by Reg1n0ld on Freesound, reading performed by Martin White and the image is from a specimen in Laval University in Canada.
The Last of the Curlews
With Mary Colwell
Mary Colwell in conversation with Donald Worster and Ursula Heise about the 1954 book 'The Last of the Curlews' by Fred Bodsworth.
Long-billed Curlew Crisis in Idaho
With Mary Colwell
The bird illustrating the podcast is of a Slender-billed Curlew. It is only one of a handful of photos known to exist. Shortly after Richard Porter took this, the Slender-billed disappeared and is feared extinct. Richard told me about his poignant encounter.
American Whimbrels
Brad Winn, a senior scientist with Manomet Centre for Conservation Sciences,takes us through the life and times of the whimbrel as it migrates across America. Shooting and habitat loss are big issues it faces every year. Thank you Andrew Johnson from the Cornell Lab for Ornithology for the calls.
Bristle-thighed Curlew
With Mary Colwell
Bristle-thighed curlews are a mysterious, magical Curlew that breeds in remote parts of Alaska and then flies to the coral atolls in the middle of the Pacific. Their call is a delightful, wobbly fluting sound. Here is Lee Tibbitts, Wildlife Biologist with USGS, Alaska Science Centre in Anchorage, Alaska
Calls courtesy of Xeno-Canto. Photo by Otto Plantema
Natural History GCSE
Journal of Biophilic Design
With such a depletion of wildlife in the UK alone, with so many schools, cities, towns, and housing estates being built so far removed from our natural world how on earth does the next generation stand a chance to learn about the natural world and be sympathetic to it? Our Director, Mary Colwell spoke about the Natural History GCSE on the Journal of Biophilic design podcast.
A Passion for Curlews
From the War on Wildlife Project
In 2016 naturalist and broadcaster Mary Colwell walked 500 miles across Ireland, northern Wales, and England to raise awareness of how the once common Common Curlew Numenius arquata was disappearing from the countryside. As she wrote at the time, ” I undertook this walk alone and unpaid. I am passionate about saving these birds.”
The Future of Education
In the sixth episode of the Future of Education podcast series, Richard Dunne talks to Mary Colwell, the award winning author, producer and campaigner for Nature, who spearheaded the establishment of the Natural History GCSE.
The Curlew
From Conservation Sound
I started getting emails at the day job about World Curlew Day. It had a lovely logo. Curlews have such a distinctive call, the potential for a podcast rose gradually across the office Outlook screen. The emails came from Mary Colwell, and her website revealed her to be a very experienced broadcaster. Podcast tip: interview a radio producer, they know what makes a good interviewee!
Walking the United Kingdom for Curlew Conservation
On today’s episode, we are joined by wildlife activist and adventurer, Roger Morgan-Grenville. Chair of the trustees for Curlew Action, a charity dedicated to the conservation of Curlews, Roger briefs us on the impact of climate and urbanization on wildlife. Recently, Roger embarked on a 50-day, 1,000mile walk from Lymington to Cape Wrath to raise awareness and funds for the endangered species.
The Curlew Countdown
From Saun's Wildlife
Mary Colwell is a woman on a mission: to save one of our most iconic native wading birds from extinction, the Curlew. A bird of wild, windswept landscapes, its evocative call and willowy appearance has inspired poetry, music and wonder in many.
Here, Mary and Sean McCormack chat about what can be done to save the Curlew, and the difficult conversations that need to be had with various stakeholders when it comes to practical nature conservation.
The Curlew Countdown
From The War on Wildlife Project
Many of us with an interest in the natural world have known for years that children and young people are spending less and less time outdoors. Losing their connection with nature. A recent survey suggested that many children can’t identify common garden flowers. Half couldn’t identify arguably the UK’s most distinctive bird – the Kingfisher. A fifth of young people can’t identify a badger (despite one featuring in the badge of Harry Potter’s very own Hufflepuff House).
Curlew Conservationist Roger Morgan-Grenville
From Scotland Outdoors
58 days and 1,000 miles. Roger Morgan-Grenville chats to Mark Stephen about his epic walk from the south of England to the North of Scotland.