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International search effort underway to find the Slender-billed Curlew

Slender-billed Curlew (© Richard Porter)17 December 2009 - The largest ever attempt to rediscover a possibly extinct species will be mounted this winter with teams of skilled volunteer observers scouring more than 35 countries around the Mediterranean, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent in the hope of confirming the continued existence of the Slender-billed Curlew.

The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is one of the four most threatened (Critically Endangered) species listed under AEWA and has the smallest population estimate amongst them with no confirmed records since 2001.

Commenting on the quest, Nicola Crockford from the RSPB and the chair of the international Slender-billed Curlew Working Group said: “The allure of this bird is such that, thanks to the goodwill and voluntary assistance of many people on a shoestring budget we have managed to achieve the seemingly impossible: coverage in virtually every country of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The race is well and truly on to prove the continued existence of this mystical species. Whoever finds the bird will have earned their place in ornithological history.”

The search for the presence of the Slender-billed Curlew will be taking place this winter in the following countries:

  • all Mediterranean countries especially Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Italy, Greece and Turkey;
  • additional African countries of the Red Sea: Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia;
  • all Middle Eastern countries: including Iran, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria;
  • countries of the subcontinent: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In the event of a Slender-billed Curlew being located, a rapid-reaction team will be deployed to catch the bird and fit it with a satellite tag in the hope that it can be tracked back to its breeding grounds next spring.

The framework of the search is provided by the International Waterbird Census of Wetlands International. Where possible, international searchers are joining regular midwinter waterbird counting teams. Furthermore, in spring there will be a coordinated spring survey of the Adriatic, and beyond. Then, in autumn, if funds can be raised, there will be search expeditions to potential moult sites around the Aral, Caspian and Black Seas. Additionally, there will be search coverage of Hungary’s Pannonian plain and Serbia.

Any potential record of Slender-billed Curlew has to be approved by an international verification panel set up by the Slender-billed Curlew working group and co-ordinated by the newly appointed Ken Shaw, formerly of the RSPB. Birdwatchers are urged to keep an eye out for the bird in suitable habitats within the potential range and to report any possible sightings, including historical ones. To assist the search, an identification leaflet has been produced in twelve languages.

In the AEWA Strategic Plan 2009-2017, the Parties to AEWA have set a number of indicators for the successful implementation of the Agreement and one of them is “zero extinction” , i.e. that no AEWA waterbird population will become extinct. In order to meet this target, it is necessary to make every effort to find and protect the last Slender-billed Curlews and their critical sites along the flyway. The AEWA Secretariat is an active member of the working group and the core steering group for the Slender-billed Curlew and is providing both logistical and institutional support to the international search campaign. In addition, AEWA has provided funding for the Slender-billed Curlew Identification Kit as well as for four satellite tags.

Further Information:

Read the full press release issued by the RSPB today, on behalf of a partnership, involving: The African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA); BirdLife International; Convention on Migratory Species; and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds:

The Slender-billed Curlew Working Group:

Slender-billed Curlew and Curlew (© Richard Porter)