An important conservation project is working on Upper and Lower Lough Erne to increase the populations of curlew and other breeding wader species in the lakelands.

Recently, the RSPB in Northern Ireland, in partnership with the Lough Erne Landscape Partnership (LELP), organised a cruise on the Lady of the Lake boat to enable local farmers with land along the shoreline, and members of the public, to learn about the work being done by the RSPB Upper and Lower Reserve teams.

On a beautiful May day, the cruise took to the waters to showcase the work of the Lough Erne Lowlands Project, which is part funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and is the RSPB NI’s most westerly reserve.

It supports breeding pairs of curlews – a type of bird that is currently on the red list of endangered species in the UK and Ireland.

Up to a quarter of Northern Ireland’s curlew breeding population, and a fifth of the population on the island of Ireland, is to be found in Fermanagh.

Guests had the opportunity to spot curlews as well as other local breeding waders such as snipe, lapwing, redshank and oystercatchers from the top deck of the Lady of the Lake cruise boat.

Passengers on the excursion expressed delight in hearing the call of the curlew and the drumming of snipe, as they passed their nesting sites on the different islands in the lough.

From the boat, guests were wowed by the sight of a pair of curlew guarding their chicks. The curlew even conducted an aerial pursuit of lesser black-backed gulls.

RSPB NI protects the breeding wader species which inhabit these islands through land management, scrub removal, seasonal monitoring and working with local farmers to make their land a habitable space for these wonderful birds to continue to breed.

Together, RSPB NI and LELP work closely together to carry out vital conservation work that is restoring Fermanagh’s native bird habitats.

One of the ways they achieve this is by introduced Highland Cattle, which work in tandem with breeding waders.

The Island Habitation Restoration Project has been focusing on restoring the RSPB-managed islands on Lower Lough Erne to secure a stable and growing population of the four key breeding wader species - curlew, lapwing, snipe and redshank – so they can remain an integral feature within the Lough Erne landscape for generations.

Within the LELP landscape area, species such as curlew and lapwing have seen dramatic declines in their populations since the 1980s – by some 82 and 89 per cent respectively.

This project facilitates large-scale habitat creation across seven islands on Lower Lough Erne, through removing regenerating scrub from open grassland habitat to re-creating open wet grassland conditions.

It has been shown that habitat management activity, to date, on the RSPB reserves on Lough Erne’s islands has been effective in reversing this decline.

This project aims to build on that success to secure a stable and growing population of all four species.

Curlew factfile

• Curlews are in trouble. Since the mid-1980s, the breeding curlew population in Northern Ireland has fallen by 82 per cent.

• During the spring and summer, curlews migrate to their breeding grounds – mostly in upland areas – raising their chicks in areas of rough pasture, heather moorland and wetlands.

• Curlews are Europe’s largest wader. When they spread their wings, they’re almost a metre wide, and their beak is around 15cm long.

• During the breeding season, males deliver a loud and impressive ‘bubbling’ song to attract mates and defend their territories.

• The female lays three or four olive-brown eggs and both parents take it in turns to sit on the nest. The eggs are incubated for 27-29 days (about four weeks).

• When the chicks hatch, they are covered in downy fluff and they quickly learn to feed themselves.