Remembering the Slender-billed Curlew: Reflections on a Lost Species

Bonn, 11 November 2025 - On 10 October 2025, the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) was officially declared extinct - the first migratory waterbird species listed under the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) to be lost forever. Once a graceful traveller between Eurasia and North Africa, its disappearance marks a profound moment of reflection for all who work to protect migratory species and their habitats.

The last confirmed sighting of the Slender-billed Curlew was in Morocco in February 1995 - just four months before AEWA was formally negotiated and concluded in The Hague. For this species, the treaty established to conserve migratory waterbirds across Africa and Eurasia simply came too late. 

Yet the extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew stands as a stark reminder of why such cooperation is vital and why we must act earlier, faster, and together to prevent future losses.

To honour its memory, the AEWA Secretariat has therefore launched this special feature collecting personal reflections and testimonies from those who searched for, studied, and cared deeply about this elusive bird.

This feature on the Slender-billed Curlew prepared by the AEWA Secretariat is intended as a living memorial and a source of inspiration - a human narrative around loss, learning, and renewed commitment for the conservation of migratory species.

If you or someone you know has a story to share about the Slender-billed Curlew, we invite you to contribute to this archive of human remembrance, inspiration and hope by writing to: aewa.secretariat@unep-aewa.org

Contributors 

	Richard Porter, an ornithologist with nearly six decades of experience in international conservation, specialising in the Middle East, where he is currently advisor to BirdLife’s conservation programme. Read the interview
	Marry Colwell-Hector, author, campaigner, and Chair of the Curlew Recovery Partnership England. Read the interview
	John O’Sullivan, the former COP Appointed Scientific Councillor for Birds on the Scientific Council of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Read the interview
	Chris Gomersall, a professional wildlife photographer, author and tour guide. He worked as RSPB’s in-house photographer from 1984 -1998 and was nominated as GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2007. Read the interview
	Graeme Buchanan, a lifelong birder and Head of International Conservation Science at the RSPB, where he leads a team of scientists to ensure conservation is driven by strong evidence. Read the interview
	Adam Gretton, has worked on Slender-billed Curlew for ICBP, then BirdLife International, from May 1988 to December 1994. He has taken a close interest in the species ever since. Read the interview
	Nicola Crockford, Principal Policy Officer at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), who has served as BirdLife International’s representative for the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and AEWA for many years and also chair(ed) the (now dormant) CMS Slender-billed Curlew Working Group. Read the interview