On 5 July 2020, somewhere along the Bug River, a group of 13 Curlews was released. They scattered around the world, but thanks to the yellow flags, they were not anonymous and we could follow their fate.
Today, just over five years later, we know that nine of them (69%) definitely survived their first full year of life (juvenile survival). This is an excellent result, because based on tracking data from GPS transmitters, we know that it could have been worse.
We know the locations of five of their wintering grounds: Three are located in France, including one inland far from the coast, which is quite rare, one in the Netherlands, and one in Spain.
Nine birds definitely returned to Poland (at least one observation). Eight were reported as breeding or potentially breeding birds, of which two were females and six were males.
During the 2025 breeding season, there were definitely seven birds present, five of which were in the Pulwy Marsh and two in the Bug Valley. Six had partners, and one was a territorial male who remained single throughout the season. An interesting fact is that he lost the competition for a female (also from the breeding program, but released in the Noteć Valley) to another male from his cohort. In total, we found five nests of birds from the described group in the 2025 season. It was sad to discover that one of the males had been hunted and eaten (along with the eggs) while on the nest, probably by a female Marsh Harrier.
This is definitely the best-known cohort released in the history of the Eurasian Curlew conservation program. Flag readings prove its effectiveness. However, artificial rearing does not solve the species' main problems – predation and habitat loss. However, it does help to maintain and rebuild populations and "buy time" to solve problems which is neither easy nor quick, and which the LIFE project launched a year ago is intended to address.
Finally, we would like to say hello and thank our volunteer @Ronja St, who bravely helps read flags and monitors her favorite pair in the Bug Valley.
