Rapid decline could make curlew extinct in Ireland in decade

The curlew Numenius arquata has almost vanished from Ireland in a mere 20 years, in one of the most dramatic declines ever recorded for a bird in the British Isles. From a breeding population estimated at 5,000 pairs in 1991, the Irish curlew's numbers have dropped to fewer than 200 pairs today, which if the estimates are correct would represent a staggering decline of more than 96 per cent. It is feared than in another decade the bird could be extinct. "Everything points to a decline which is truly catastrophic," said Anita Donaghy of Birdwatch Ireland, who led a survey of curlew numbers this spring. "We could hardly believe the results we were getting."

The survey looked at 60 sites which previously held curlews in Donegal and Mayo and found that only six of them were occupied – with a total of only eight pairs, four in Mayo and four in Donegal.

Source: Michael McCarthy, The Independent, 9 August 2011
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/rapid-decline-could-mak…