Curlew ringing with SCAN

Before Christmas the SCAN ringing group attempted a Curlew catch near Llanfairfechan. Curlews can be notoriously hard to catch and as part of the long term sampling of wader populations in the Lavan Sands area Steve was keen to catch a larger sample of Curlew.

The nets were set in an area known as the 'doughnut' which meant a bit of a wade across a submerged causeway when the tide was in! Whilst waiting for hight tide and the roost to develop we were treated t oa gorgeous sunrise over the hills behind us

Ultimately a decent catch was made and it included a Finnish controlled Curlew and a Bar-tailed Godwit.

 Below: ringing team attempting to cross back to the mainland without getting wet!

Sadly, as with many other bird species in the UK, our breeding Curlews are in steep decline. Winter numbers are boosted by migrants from northern Europe as ringing recoveries have shown. Long term monitoring, such as undertaken by SCAN, can help spot population trends and hopefully set in motion schemes to help such declines.