Curlew Moon

Curlew Moon
Mary Colwell

‘Focuses a razor light on the plight of one of our most iconic birds. Inspirational!’ Tim BirkheadCurlews are Britain’s largest wading bird, known for their evocative calls which embody wild places; they provoke a range of emotions that many have expressed in poetry, art and music.A bird stands alone on the edge of a mudflat. Its silhouette is unmistakable. A plump body sits atop stilty legs. The long neck arcs into a small head, which tapers further into a long curved bill. The smooth, convex outlines of this curlew are alluring. They touch some ancestral liking we all have for shapes that are round and smooth.Over the last 20 years numbers in the UK have halved; the Eurasian Curlew is one of our most endangered birds. With a quarter of the world population breeding in the UK and Ireland, this is nothing short of a disaster. The curlew is showing all the signs of being the next Great Auk.In Curlew Moon, Mary Colwell takes us on a 500-mile journey on foot from the west coast of Ireland to the east coast of England, to discover what is happening to this beautiful and much-loved bird. She sets off in early spring when the birds are arriving on their breeding grounds, watches them nesting in the hills of Wales and walks through England when the young are hatching. She finishes her walk on the coast of Lincolnshire when the fledglings are trying out their wings. This is also the place many curlews will return to for the winter months.This evocative book chronicles Colwell’s impressive journey, with beautiful illustrations by Jessica Holm, weaving a gentle tale of discovery interspersed with the natural history of this iconic bird that has fascinated us for millennia – and so desperately needs our help.

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Copyright (#u4c49e06d-d61f-532b-9a67-db1c37dc830f)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://www.WilliamCollinsBooks.com)

This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2018

Text © Mary Colwell, 2018

Illustrations © Jessica Holm, 2018

‘Curlews’ © A.W. Bullen first published on https://hellopoetry.com/. Reproduced by permission.

‘Messengers of Spring’ © Kerry Darbishire, 2017, Curlew Calling: An Anthology of Poetry, Nature-Writing and Images in Celebration of Curlew, edited by Karen Lloyd. http://karenlloyd-writer.co.uk/curlew-calling-anthology/. Reproduced by permission.

Love and Revolution © Alastair McIntosh, 2006, Luath Press, Edinburgh. Reproduced by permission.

Death of a Naturalist, Faber & Faber Ltd © Seamus Heaney, 1966. Reproduced by permission.

The Hounds of Hell © John Masefield, 1920. Permission to reproduce granted by The Society of Authors as the Literary Representative of the Estate of John Masefield.

‘Incoming’, Curlew Calling: An Anthology of Poetry, Nature-Writing and Images in Celebration of Curlew, edited by Karen Lloyd © Jonathan Humble, 2017. http://karenlloyd-writer.co.uk/curlew-calling-anthology/. Reproduced by permission.

The author asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008241056

eBook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008241063

Version: 2018-03-23

Dedication (#u4c49e06d-d61f-532b-9a67-db1c37dc830f)

Curlew Moon is dedicated to my two sons, Dom and Greg, who were bemused by the idea of walking 500 miles for curlews, but actually think it’s quite cool.

Contents

Cover (#u40251c3e-0583-5e3f-be35-0887651feb20)

Title Page (#u3b7d136e-ee6e-5f70-998a-79709d492a3f)

Copyright (#ucffb5317-15bc-5fa2-b247-9a4be1d2926b)

Dedication (#u25485295-b179-5f91-bcda-91e9ca15bec1)

1 WHAT IS A CURLEW? (#ufb37c17c-80aa-5bb0-bd71-0119e7ad7d7a)

2 BEGINNING AT THE END (#u9c8a16db-481a-5707-b728-bfa0125c782e)

3 ARRIVING IN IRELAND (#u9af36a35-2348-515b-baa0-e52948b72657)

4 THE LAND OF LAKES (#ucfa98713-2706-51ba-8eee-94f0bf353583)

5 ENTERING EIRE (#litres_trial_promo)

6 INTO THE BOGS (#litres_trial_promo)

7 INTO WALES (#litres_trial_promo)

8 SOUTHERN ENGLAND CURLEWS (#litres_trial_promo)

9 CURLEW MOORS (#litres_trial_promo)

10 CURLEWS AND CONTROVERSY (#litres_trial_promo)

11 SEEING THE LAST CURLEW (#litres_trial_promo)

12 REFLECTIONS (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 1

WHAT IS A CURLEW? (#u4c49e06d-d61f-532b-9a67-db1c37dc830f)

There is a wildlife spectacle that can transport the soul to a place of yearning and beauty, to an experience that has inspired generations of thinkers and dreamers. Imagine, if you will, a blustery cold day in December. Bitterly cold. A bird stands alone on the edge of a mudflat, some distance from where you are standing. Its silhouette is unmistakable. A plump body sits atop stilty legs. The long neck arcs into a small head, which tapers further into an extended, curved bill. The smooth, convex outlines of this curlew are alluring. They touch some ancestral attraction we all have for shapes that are round and sleek. The curved curlew’s outline is anomalous in this planar landscape, but its colour blends well. The mud is gunmetal grey, the bird brown and the water murky. The sky is dull with a hint of drab. The air is tangy with the smells of decay.