News and views from across the River Severn SHOOTING^
WITH HELENA VENABLES IN WALES
A
curlew that was incubated as an egg and
reared in its local landscape in a process
known as ‘headstarting’ has successfully returned
home for the first time. The bird, one of six chicks
reared in 2017 as part of the UK Lowland Curlew
Recovery Project, better known as Curlew
Country, is already displaying breeding behaviour.
Curlew Country, which is based in the Welsh
Marches and Shropshire, has been set up to
recover the nationally significant curlew
population in the Welsh Marches and Shropshire
Hills. Its aims are to establish a sustainable
lowland curlew population in the medium- to
long-term; work with partners to establish a
strategy for UK Curlew Recovery; and establish a
workable model for every farmer with curlew on
their land to achieve breeding success.
Project manager, Amanda Perkins,
commented: “Seeing the result of our hard
work – from the project team, the farmers,
landowners, fundraisers and the local community
- is a proud moment, but we must make sure it
isn’t wasted. Now we have shown that this
process can work, we need a policy that allows
those managing the land to give all curlew a
fighting chance.”
In Wales, curlew decline is an issue of
national significance, according to Natural
Resources Wales, which is a member of the
Gylfinir Cymru (Curlew Wales) group, a
collaborative initiative made up of 16
organisations to encourage a range of
stakeholders to come together to help reverse
curlew decline.
According to the British Trust for Ornithology
(BTO), the latest Bird Breeding Survey published
on 2 May 2019 shows that the Welsh breeding
curlew population fell 68% between 1995 and- NRW states that there could now be fewer
than 400 breeding pairs left in Wales.
Welsh swifts are also showing population
decline with their breeding population down by
69% over the same period. However, it’s not all
bad news! Great spotted woodpeckers like Welsh
woodland, with their breeding population
increasing three-fold between 1995 and 2017.
Sarah Harris, Breeding Bird Survey organiser at
the BTO, commented: “The sound of the first swift
screaming overhead in spring or the bubbling
song of a territorial curlew are among the best
sounds in birding and always bring a smile to my
face. It is worrying to see the long-term trends for
these species each year and only time will tell
what effect our changing climate will have on
these birds in the future. Without the efforts of
hundreds of volunteers in Wales, we would not
have these figures to help prompt further research
and conservation action. Thank you to all who
take part.” Helena Venables brings the latest news from Wales; this month, she takes a closer look at a
successful curlew conservation project and the results of a charity clay shoot
Curlew and clays
Charity clay shoot
Shooting and eisteddfodau (a Welsh festival of
music, literature and performance) seem
unlikely bedfellows. However, this year’s Clwb
Saethu Clai Tregaron (Tregaron Clay Club)
fundraising shoot, held on 11 May at the Mid
Wales Activity Centre, raised over £700 for the
Welsh National Eistedfod to be held in
Tregaron in 2020.
Sponsored by several local businesses to
the tune of £775, the shoot saw 235 entries
during the day across a pool shoot, five
50-bird Sporting classes (Open, Novice,
Ladies, Junior and Colt) and the prestigious
Tregaron Masters 70-bird Sporting
competition, which was reserved for
international and county shooters.
The testing Tregaron Masters course, made
trickier by a lively breeze, was always going to
challenge the best, and many former Welsh
internationals, including Welsh captains, saw
their skills put to the limits and beyond: Josh
Keeble scored 62 ex 70, while Richard
‘Brewster’ Hughes scored 60 ex 70. However,
it was former world champion Martin Myers
from Haverfordwest who took the trophy with
a near-perfect score of 69, his one lost point
going to the famed Tregaron rabbit clay.
As well as competing, Mr Myers was using
the event as a practice run before flying out to
America to compete in the US Open Sporting
championship in New Jersey later in May;
here, he came 13th out of a field of over 950
shooters. Winners of the other classes at
Tregaron were Dan Rees (Open), Rhodri
Morgan (Novice), Tracy Langford (Ladies),
Oliver Langford (Juniors) and Henry James
(Colts). Top Gun on the Ceredigion Young
Farmers’ Club county selection shoot run over
the course went to Aled Jones, who will go on
to shoot in the YFC national event.
Congratulations to all!
PICTURE:MIKELANE45 / GETTYIMAGES