£1m boost for project to protect Wales’ most threatened breeding bird
Nation.Cymru Staff
A major new project to help reverse the decline of one of Wales’ most threatened breeding birds has secured almost £1 million in Welsh Government funding.
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority announced the investment from Government’s Nature Networks Fund to continue curlew recovery work, delivered in partnership with the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape.
Aiming to strengthen the resilience of Wales’ protected sites and accelerate nature’s recovery, the Networks Fund is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.
This investment strengthens the momentum of curlew conservation within Bannau Brycheiniog, at what the National Park Authority says is a critical moment for the birds, building directly on the achievements of the Curlew Connections Wales project.
Curlew Connections Wales, also funded through the Nature Networks Fund,was a three‑year partnership led jointly with the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley National Landscape, and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Over the past three years, the project worked with farmers, volunteers, ecologists, researchers and the wider community to better understand and protect curlews across the Welsh landscape.
The project came to an end on 31 March 2026.
Curlews are ground nesting, long-lived birds that breed on farmland and moorlands across Wales during the spring and early summer months.
Recognised by their long, downcurved bill, mottled plumage and distinctive call, UK populations are in steep decline because they are not producing enough fledged chicks to sustain their numbers.
Very few eggs and chicks make it through to adulthood every year, meaning the birds are in long-term population decline and the curlew is now considered to be the bird of highest conservation concern in Wales.
The new project will take a landscape‑scale approach to curlew conservation, applying the learning gained through the Curlew Connections Wales project.
A key focus of the next phase will be continued collaboration with the farming community, who have already supported efforts by monitoring nests and predators, improving habitat conditions and enabling conservation actions.
Specialist advisors will also help deepen understanding of curlew ecology, while volunteers and members of the public will continue to play an important role through community engagement, survey work and data collection.
The project will also support farmers in shaping sustainable recovery frameworks for curlew recovery.
Brad Welch, Land Use and Nature Recovery Manager at Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, said: “We are thrilled to receive this support from the Nature Networks Programme, securing three more years of vital curlew recovery work throughout the Park.
“Working alongside our partners, the farming and local communities we can build directly on the strong foundations laid by the Curlew Connections Wales project. Protecting this species is a conservation priority for Bannau Brycheiniog and this next phase gives us real confidence for the future of this iconic bird.”
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Shame they don’t mention the damage caused by people walking their dogs off the lead, that damage hundreds of ground nesting sites every year, my area alone has seen a massive decline in skylarks and hen harriers are a rarity these days, more reason to restrict access to open country during the breeding season.