Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the UK and Ireland, is the heart of a vast interconnected aquatic ecosystem, from its surrounding catchment area to the rivers which flow into it and flow out to the north coast.
For many years, that heart has been under increasing pressure and, in 2023, an unprecedented blue-green algal bloom appeared, causing immense public interest and which was visible from space.
In this video we meet Ronan Owens of Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) , Ciara Laverty of Lough Neagh Partnership and Seamus Burns of RSPB NI the importance of this landscape for the curlew, which is a red listed species of high conservation concern in the UK and Ireland.
We learn about the crucial community-led conservation work being carried out by Lough Neagh Partnership on the southern shores of Lough Neagh to encourage breeding pairs to survive and to help halt and reverse declining Curlew numbers.
The haunting call of the Curlew was once a familiar sound across the Irish countryside but it is now a rare and precious thing.
In Northern Ireland, this iconic bird is on the brink, with only around 150 breeding pairs remaining.
Once numbering in the thousands, Curlews are now clinging to survival in just a few key strongholds: on the Antrim Plateau at Glenwherry; the Lough Erne lowlands; and a small but vital nationally important population nesting near the southwest shores of Lough Neagh in Derrytrasna and Derrytresk.
The Curlew’s decline is due to a perfect storm of threats: habitat loss due to changes in farming practices; land abandonment; peat extraction and afforestation, disturbance from dogs and quads, predation, and the impact of game bird releases. Low rates of productivity due to loss of eggs and chicks is driving Curlew population declines, with not enough young being raised to sustain populations.
These ground-nesting birds need safe, undisturbed wetlands to raise their chicks, and those places are fast disappearing.
But all is not lost!
Conservationists, local communities, and councils are rallying together. The RSPB, Lough Neagh Partnership and Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, are leading the charge by restoring habitats, installing predator fencing, monitoring nests, and engaging the community through education and outreach.
Every effort matters. Locals have already stepped up by keeping dogs on leads, reducing quad use, and supporting community events. But the Curlew’s survival depends on continued action from policy changes and protected sites, to simple awareness and respect during the breeding season .
The Curlew isn’t just a bird, it’s a symbol of our natural heritage. If we lose its call, we lose something irreplaceable.
Ronan would encourage any Curlew sightings during spring and summer to be reported on the BTO Bird Track app.
Ciara is grateful to the local community for their efforts in helping keep the Curlew’s song alive and would urge anyone interested in volunteering to contact Lough Neagh Partnership.
Seamus says the one thing that strikes him about the Curlew is that people love its sound – it’s good for peoples’ health and wellbeing to have the call of the curlew continue to be heard in the Lough Neagh landscape.
The views and opinions on the subject of this video are that of the contributors.
