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The curlew's call is one of the defining sounds of the British upland — a long, bubbling, ascending cry that carries across the open moorland for half a mile in still air. To hear it for the first time on the moor above Hawes or on the ridge above Swaledale is to understand immediately why it has been described, consistently across two centuries of nature writing, as one of the most evocative sounds in the English landscape.
The Yorkshire Dales hold one of the largest remaining curlew breeding populations in England, and the management of the Dales upland — in particular the hay meadow and moorland fringe habitats — is increasingly shaped by the need to support this population. The curlew is now a species of serious conservation concern.
The Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) is Britain's largest wading bird, a long-legged, long-billed species whose down-curved bill is one of the most distinctive in the British avifauna. The bill is used to probe for invertebrates — earthworms, crane fly larvae, beetles — in soil, peat and turf. The length and curvature allow the curlew to reach prey at depths that other waders cannot access.
Adults are streaky brown above and pale below, cryptically patterned for a bird that nests on the ground. The eggs — typically four per clutch — are laid in a scrape on short vegetation on the moor fringe or in hay meadows, and both parents incubate and rear the chicks.
The curlew population in England has declined by approximately 48% since 1995. In Wales the decline has been even more severe. The causes are multiple: nest predation by foxes, corvids and badgers (whose populations have increased significantly in the same period); agricultural improvement reducing the quality of feeding habitat; drainage of upland bogs reducing the wet ground the curlew needs to probe for food.
The Yorkshire Dales hold a breeding population of approximately 5,000 pairs — significant on a national scale but itself in long-term decline. Conservation work focused on predator management, habitat restoration and supplementary feeding of chicks has been piloted on several Dales farms with promising results, but the overall population trend remains negative.
Breeding season (March–July): The curlew's call is most frequently heard from March, when birds return to the breeding upland from their coastal wintering grounds. Display flights — a rising, banking flight accompanied by a bubbling song — are most spectacular in April and May. Moorland and hay meadow edges in Swaledale, Wensleydale and Wharfedale are the best locations.
Outside the breeding season: Curlews move to coastal estuaries in autumn and winter, returning inland in late February and March. Occasional birds are seen in the Dales in winter.
The Yorkshire Dales Curlew Country project, funded by Natural England and several conservation organisations, works with farmers across the Dales to improve conditions for breeding curlews. The project involves predator management, habitat enhancement and a nest protection scheme. Information on the project and current sightings is available from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
The curlew is one of the defining wildlife species of the Dales upland. Contact us to discuss a Dales bespoke tour in the breeding season.