17 July, 2018 12:59
FOUR curlew chicks have
successfully fledged in Co Antrim.
The chicks hatched at Greenmount
Hill Farm in Glenwherry on June 4 and fledged last week, the RSPB announced
today.
The conservation charity said it
is the first time its advisor Neal Warnock has reported a pair of curlews
fledging four young.
Chicks first fledged on the farm
last year for the first time in 20 years.
A pair of curlews had attempted
to breed in 2016 - the first time since 2005 - only to fail to hatch
young.
But last summer two pairs arrived
back at the farm and one of the pairs successfully fledged three young.
The new chicks fledged this year
will boost dwindling
curlew numbers.
The bird has long been synonymous
with Ireland and is often mentioned in Irish literature and
songs.
However, numbers have fallen
sharply.
Northern Ireland has lost more
than 80 per cent of the curlew population since 1987.
And numbers have almost halved
across the UK over the past two decades.
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