Stone-curlew under threat from farming changes

One of Britain’s most endangered birds is facing a new threat.

About 350 pairs of stone-curlews still survive in two small pockets in England thanks mainly to the efforts of conservationists working with local farmers.

Most breed on specially created bare plots, on set-aside land and among sugar beet crops but these favoured sites could disappear because of changes in farming practices.

The EU paid farmers to leave some land untouched because of over production and this allowed wildlife vital undisturbed areas where they could fine food and cover and where they could breed.

But the set aside subsidies have now ended and combined with a growing demand for wheat, the stone curlew sites could be ploughed over.

Conservation bodies say a big effort will be needed to ensure the nesting areas survive.

Stone-curlews nest on the ground in the Brecks area of Norfolk and Suffolk covered by a joint RSPB/Natural England project and in the Salisbury Plain area of Wiltshire.

Nearly two-thirds of the UK’s stone-curlews – some 200 pairs – nest in the Brecks area. Numbers have been slowly growing in recent years thanks to farmers who work closely with conservation workers.

Source: RSPB/www.telegraph.co.uk