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Mary writes:
Welcome to the new website of the Curlew Recovery Partnership. It’s an honour to be involved in this group as we all have the same aim – to turn around the fortunes of the much-loved but beleaguered Curlew, and to see it fly high and in increasing numbers over the fields and moors of England once again. We have given ourselves a decade to enact true and lasting change. It is a big ask in today’s stressed world, but I am sure we can do it if we pull together and keep the vision strong. And I hope everyone reading this blog will join us.
When I go running, I sometimes listen to an old 1989 hit by Belinda Carlisle called ‘We Want The Same Thing’. The music is pretty outdated now (although I remember it well!), but the sentiment is one I can identify with and the words still ring true: “We dream the same dream; we want the same thing.” Everyone in the Partnership wants the same thing, every single one of us is passionate about nature and we love Britain’s largest wading bird, the Curlew. Passion and vision go a long way in bringing people together, and even though we may come from different points of view, our love of Curlews is a bond. In all of life, it is good to have something to ‘hang your hat on’, to gather around and to champion, and the Curlew is one such icon. In nature diversity is strength. The range of organisations making up the Partnership will make us resilient and will enable us to reach out to everyone who cares about the future of Curlews and the natural world.
Curlews are lovely birds in their own right, and no one can dispute that their calls are amongst the most beautiful in Britain – but they represent a bigger picture. Curlews, and the places they live, speak for all the other creatures that depend on wet, wild, flowery, heathery, insect-rich and muddy landscapes. Where there are Curlews in the winter or in the summer, many other creatures live too, so by protecting them we automatically wrap protective arms around many other species that might not be so well known. Curlew habitats support a wealth of treasured wildlife; bringing back the Curlew will go a long way to producing a vibrant, colourful, wildlife-rich Britain.
The Curlew Recovery Partnership is a new venture in conservation, based around positivity, support and cooperation. We are determined for the sake of the birds to do everything we can to help the many groups already working with the birds, and to support new projects. We are here to help, advise, encourage and connect those dedicated to curlew conservation. Curlews deserve us to be our best, we owe them their place on this small piece of the earth.
Thank you for reading this and for your interest in this group – we hope that we will be reporting good news on this site for years to come.