The Eurasian curlew is the UK's most threatened breeding bird. Protecting nesting pairs and reducing chick mortality requires targeted management across upland farmland and moorland.
Individual curlew welfare is closely linked to breeding success. Curlews that lose clutches to predation re-lay but suffer reduced success with late clutches. Chicks that hatch but fail to find sufficient invertebrate prey face slow starvation over days or weeks. Adults incubating in poor weather expend enormous energy reserves. Predator control around curlew nesting sites - conducted humanely using cage traps and approved methods - reduces individual suffering at the nest and increases the number of chicks that fledge successfully. The species' extreme vulnerability makes targeted intervention both a conservation and welfare imperative.