Curlew Numenius arquata

The Curlew, Numenius arquata, is Britain’s largest wading bird, belonging to the family Scolopacidae, and one of the most evocative birds of the upland and coastal landscape. Adults are streaked brown with a long, elegantly downcurved bill – among the most distinctive silhouettes of any British bird – used to probe deeply into soft substrates for invertebrates, particularly worms and crustaceans. The far-carrying, bubbling call is widely regarded as one of the most haunting and beautiful sounds in nature. Curlews breed on upland moorland, rough grassland, and wet meadows, wintering in large numbers on estuaries and intertidal mudflats. The species has undergone severe declines in breeding numbers due to habitat loss, agricultural intensification, and predation pressure, and is now Red Listed in Britain. Suffolk’s estuaries – particularly the Stour, Orwell, Deben, and Alde – support nationally important wintering populations. Image: © cclimbing, iNaturalist.

Find out more: RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist, Suffolk LNRS information page