Fieldwork starts in March every year and extends until the end of July. We are looking for people who would be prepared to undertake the fieldwork needed to establish that curlews have returned, where they have chosen to nest and (later) whether they have bred successfully. In 2024 good site coverage during the March-April period will be particularly important as we are embarking on a colour-ringing and GPS tagging project and this needs to be done before the birds are actually nesting.

This work is time-consuming and observers need to be patient and willing to devote several hours at a time in order to achieve results. You would need to be able to commit at least three, four-hour sessions each week for the season, although this could be done in partnership with another surveyor.

Please note that the vast majority of our curlew sites are in the south west quarter of Herefordshire, with a few around Hereford but very little north of it. Your distance of travel may therefore be a consideration!

Experience of curlews would be useful but not essential (tuition will be given) but you will need a good pair of binoculars and (preferably) a telescope.