Bird species at risk of extinction in Ireland
New research involving UCC has revealed that climate change is driving endangered Irish birds to new riskier habitats.
The curlew, Europe’s largest wading bird with its distinctive long curved bill, is commonly found feeding on tidal mudflats, saltmarshes, and nearby farmland in winter.
Research published in the past week reveals that the changing climate in Ireland and also in Wales is driving the birds to winter in areas with less suitable land cover like industrial estates, sports fields, and agricultural sites, making them much more vulnerable.
The research reveals that extreme weather events, such as frost events, restricted the geographic areas the birds could use and resulted in curlew using different habitats throughout the winter.
With numbers in rapid decline, the curlew was added to the red list on the UK's Conservation Status Report in 2015, the highest conservation priority.
These latest findings are based on a study of the curlew’s long-term habitat use in the UK and Ireland by researchers at UCC, Aberystwyth University, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and Geo Smart, using data collected by thousands of volunteers over two decades. The findings have led to increasing concerns that the curlew’s move away from its natural habitat could lead to the bird’s extinction in Ireland and Wales.
“These movements increase their risk of mortality as it takes them away from their natural habitat, which further impacts population decline as there are less birds returning home to breed each spring,” said Dr Paul Holloway, researcher at UCC.
“Identifying this consistent pattern over the last 20 years, we can predict where birds are likely to be, and importantly when they are going to be there, which helps us promote their safety and wellbeing on their final leg of migration,” he added.
The work is the first regional scale analysis of the curlew’s wintering distribution and has revealed several unexpected habitats used by the curlew, with the birds’ geographic range constrained by landscape and weather.
“It's critical that we understand how declining birds like curlew use the landscapes they need to survive,” said Dr Callum Macgregor, researcher at the BTO.
“The winter months are a pinch point in a curlew's life cycle so identifying and protecting the habitats this threatened species uses is crucial for its conservation, particularly in light of threats from development and climate change,” he added.
The research is part of the ECHOES (Effects of Climate Change on Birds around the Irish Sea), a major study into the effects of climate change on the habitats on the curlew and Greenland white-fronted goose in Wales and Ireland.
Launched in 2020, ECHOES is funded through the INTERREG Ireland-Wales Programme 2014-2020 and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government.