Curlew and whimbrel in the UK (1 Viewer)

[Dr.Boletus]

Been having a really strong wish to get some good photos of curlew and whimbrel in the UK.
With curlew- there's a caveat, for some reason I only want to photograph one at an inland site. I have such a site nearby- Weeting Heath, but they are always very distant there. Can anyone suggest a few sites where I can see them in abundance? Coasts would also be fine, but any raised bog sites would be ideal, as I wanted to photograph the habitat too.
Do whimbrel breed at all in the UK? My ideal environment to see them would be some sort of raised bog/mire, probably in norther Scotland.

 

[Phil Andrews]

I would hope no one would post a location of breeding Whimbrel.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Whimbrel is a Schedule 1 species of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Sharing of breeding sites would be irresponsible and disturbance of them at such an offense.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Plenty of opportunities to encounter Whimbrel both inland and on the coast during passage.

 

[jogresh]

Been having a really strong wish to get some good photos of curlew and whimbrel in the UK.
With curlew- there's a caveat, for some reason I only want to photograph one at an inland site. I have such a site nearby- Weeting Heath, but they are always very distant there. Can anyone suggest a few sites where I can see them in abundance? Coasts would also be fine, but any raised bog sites would be ideal, as I wanted to photograph the habitat too.
Do whimbrel breed at all in the UK? My ideal environment to see them would be some sort of raised bog/mire, probably in norther Scotland.

In other words, you want to photograph breeding Curlew and Whimbrel. There, said it. 🤷‍♂️🤔

 

[Dr.Boletus]

In other words, you want to photograph breeding Curlew and Whimbrel. There, said it. 🤷‍♂️🤔

Well I can provide a location for breeding whimbrel right now. Orshinsky Moh. Good luck getting there (literally. That swamp is incredibly dangerous).
No, I was more interested in seeing curlews in a very specific type of habitat (raised bogs). I already have a site where I can see them breeding, don't worry. It is south of the place where I saw a great grey shrike.
But I also should have been more specific and said my intention is to re-create that photo (with godwits at Welney, 2021), but with curlews, so any multi-curlew site would be really appreciated. I'd probably end up going now rather than wait for the summer.

Also, I've never seen a whimbrel in the UK in general. At all.

 

[DMW]

I can recommend Rockall.

 

[Dr.Boletus]

For the avoidance of doubt these are the photos I was hoping to get on a raised bog:

Великое болото и его обитатели

Как уже говорилось в предыдущем посте, испугавшись окончательно угробить свою мотособачонку, я повернул назад, не доехав нескольких километров до озера, которое хотел осмотреть. Вечером того же дня, уже без всяких технических приспособлений, я выдвинулся в том же направлении, и на этот раз таки…

dipperman.livejournal.com

 

[Jos Stratford]

For the avoidance of doubt these are the photos I was hoping to get on a raised bog:

Великое болото и его обитатели

Как уже говорилось в предыдущем посте, испугавшись окончательно угробить свою мотособачонку, я повернул назад, не доехав нескольких километров до озера, которое хотел осмотреть. Вечером того же дня, уже без всяких технических приспособлений, я выдвинулся в том же направлении, и на этот раз таки…

dipperman.livejournal.com

ie on their breeding grounds. For Whimbrel, that would likely mean disturbance, and that in the UK would mean disturbance of a Schedule 1 species.

Instead of requesting location of a raised bog in Scotland, why not photograph on the coast? Fairly widespread .

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

But I also should have been more specific and said my intention is to re-create that photo (with godwits at Welney, 2021), but with curlews, so any multi-curlew site would be really appreciated. I'd probably end up going now rather than wait for the summer.
View attachment 1627114
Also, I've never seen a whimbrel in the UK in general. At all.

You want to recreate a group of waders being flushed? If they're coming in to land there are several Whimbrel roosts in spring that might be worth trying. Unfortunately the largest one in Lancashire is not public access.

 

[Dr.Boletus]

You want to recreate a group of waders being flushed? If they're coming in to land there are several Whimbrel roosts in spring that might be worth trying. Unfortunately the largest one in Lancashire is not public access.

I didn't flush them.
But yes, upon recall, I think a peregrine did briefly flush them.
Any whimbrel roost I would be really grateful for.
But, to clarify, I wanted to take a photo of a flock of curlews taking off like that. Given I never saw it before, even one whimbrel in the UK would be enough for me.

 

[Steve Babbs]

I didn't flush them.
But yes, upon recall, I think a peregrine did briefly flush them.
Any whimbrel roost I would be really grateful for.
But, to clarify, I wanted to take a photo of a flock of curlews taking off like that. Given I never saw it before, even one whimbrel in the UK would be enough for me.

I really would go for migrating ones with whimbrel. Given you live near Weeting heath, you are only about an hour from the Orwell estuary, where it'd be hard to visit in late April/ early May and not see some. You also about an hour away from north Norfolk which would also have plenty.

 

[kb57]

I'm struggling to see why a Spain-based birder would want to photograph whimbrels in the UK, where (extremely rare breeders aside) they are mainly a passage migrant in relatively small numbers. If you want a flock of whimbrels, go to somewhere like the Odiel estuary near Huelva, where I saw a group of over 40 last summer.
For curlews you have the opposite situation, and there are a number of places around the British coast where you can see flocks outside the breeding season, although even in these locations it should be noted that they are the most disturbance-sensitive wader in UK, so proceed with caution. If you wanted to photograph breeding curlews, upland pasture in places like the North Pennines is probably a more optimal habitat than blanket bog, and can be accessed via public footpaths where you can likely get photos of displaying birds relatively easily without causing excessive disturbance, helped by the cover provided by dry-stone walls - they will sometimes fly relatively close to you when focussed on territorial display.

 

[Steve Babbs]

I'm struggling to see why a Spain-based birder would want to photograph whimbrels in the UK, where (extremely rare breeders aside) they are mainly a passage migrant in relatively small numbers. If you want a flock of whimbrels, go to somewhere like the Odiel estuary near Huelva, where I saw a group of over 40 last summer.
For curlews you have the opposite situation, and there are a number of places around the British coast where you can see flocks outside the breeding season, although even in these locations it should be noted that they are the most disturbance-sensitive wader in UK, so proceed with caution. If you wanted to photograph breeding curlews, upland pasture in places like the North Pennines is probably a more optimal habitat than blanket bog, and can be accessed via public footpaths where you can likely get photos of displaying birds relatively easily without causing excessive disturbance, helped by the cover provided by dry-stone walls - they will sometimes fly relatively close to you when focussed on territorial display.

He mentions living near Weeting Heath so must be UK based.

 

[Dr.Boletus]

I really would go for migrating ones with whimbrel. Given you live near Weeting heath, you are only about an hour from the Orwell estuary, where it'd be hard to visit in late April/ early May and not see some. You also about an hour away from north Norfolk which would also have plenty.

Oh hi! Are you the same Steve Babbs who posted about the Serapias bergonii in 2021 or 2022? I managed to find it for myself And thanks!

 

[Dr.Boletus]

I'm struggling to see why a Spain-based birder would want to photograph whimbrels in the UK, where (extremely rare breeders aside) they are mainly a passage migrant in relatively small numbers. If you want a flock of whimbrels, go to somewhere like the Odiel estuary near Huelva, where I saw a group of over 40 last summer.
For curlews you have the opposite situation, and there are a number of places around the British coast where you can see flocks outside the breeding season, although even in these locations it should be noted that they are the most disturbance-sensitive wader in UK, so proceed with caution. If you wanted to photograph breeding curlews, upland pasture in places like the North Pennines is probably a more optimal habitat than blanket bog, and can be accessed via public footpaths where you can likely get photos of displaying birds relatively easily without causing excessive disturbance, helped by the cover provided by dry-stone walls - they will sometimes fly relatively close to you when focussed on territorial display.

I'm based in both countries.
I provide an example below of the professional in action. I'm extremely careful about not disturbing wildlife. That owl was 8 meters from me. And yet others caused half of the group to migrate to the other side of a lake two or three days ago!
Upland pasture sounds good, it's just I have a bit of an obsession with bogs in general. My favourites are large raised bogs. Thanks!

 

[jogresh]

I didn't flush them.
But yes, upon recall, I think a peregrine did briefly flush them.
Any whimbrel roost I would be really grateful for.
But, to clarify, I wanted to take a photo of a flock of curlews taking off like that. Given I never saw it before, even one whimbrel in the UK would be enough for me.

Thanks for the link. Good job the Peregrine briefly flushed things. Would you say you're interested in birds eggs?.. 🤔🤷‍♂️