THE Lough Erne RSPB team has been celebrating the return of the curlew to local lands, where the once-familiar call can now be heard once again.
While the curlew had returned to nest on Trasna Island on the lower lough, thanks to the work of the RSPB NI over the last five years, last week said it was “thrilled to announce” the increasingly-endangered birds had now successfully fledged on the island.
Between 2019 to 2024, the charity undertook extensive habitat restoration, including the removal of trees and scrub from the shoreline to create five hectares of wet grassland, which is feeding habitat for breeding waders.
The team started to see the benefits of their efforts with curlew and other breeding waders fledging young at the site for the first time since the 1980’s.
Amy Burns, RSPB NI’s Lower Lough Erne Estate manager, said, she was “over the moon” that the curlew and other waders had responded so positively to their work on Trasna Island.
“I’m absolutely delighted to say that we’ve had curlew not only nesting but actually hatching successfully and getting up to the point of fledging this year on Trasna Island.
“It’s a site we acquired back in 2017, thanks to NIEA, from them it was secured, and through projects like the Lough Erne Landscape Partnership (LELP) project and Curlew in Crisis.
“We’ve managed to do a lot of work to recreate open wet grassland conditions, putting in wet features, cutting rush, to the point now where we have almost 20 pairs of breeding waders on a site that didn’t support any before this work was done, so it’s brilliant to be able to say that.”
Among the other waders who have made the island their home are lapwing, oystercatcher, and sinpe, which Ms Burns said was “great to see.”
The land on Trasna Island was previously unmanaged, but research during the project uncovered photographs from the 1920’s depicting an open, farmed landscape, which was ideal for breeding Curlews.
These images inspired the vision for the habitat restoration works, to restore the island with potential for breeding waders.
The landscape of Trasna is now similar as when it was farmed by the ‘Queen of Trasna’, Peggy Elliott. Also known as ‘Orange Peggy’, she lived there until 1891 when she passed away at the age of 108.
The RSPB has thanked LELP and CurlewLife for their support, as well a DAERA for helping it acquire the land.
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