RSPB NI and farmers help Antrim Hills wading birds to best breeding season in years

What is the background?

Northern Ireland’s curlew population has fallen by an estimated 82% since 1987, part of a UK-wide decline of around 48% since the mid-1990s. Drainage, predation, and changes in upland farming have all driven the losses. Glenwherry, on the Antrim Hills plateau in County Antrim, sits inside a Special Protection Area and Important Bird Area, and is regarded as one of the best remaining breeding sites for curlew in the country. RSPB Northern Ireland has worked there with local farmers for five years, combining land access agreements with hands-on habitat management.

What happened?

On 18 November 2025, RSPB NI reported its most successful breeding season yet at Glenwherry. Surveys recorded 45 curlew pairs, 32 lapwing pairs — the highest lapwing count since 2017 — and 243 snipe pairs, a rise of just over 20% on 2024, when snipe numbers had dipped. Curlew productivity reached 0.91 chicks per pair, a rate RSPB NI says is well above the threshold conservationists look for to grow, not just hold, a population.

How did it happen?

Fieldworkers located 21 curlew nests and fitted 18 with temporary predator-proof fencing to protect eggs and chicks from foxes and other ground predators through incubation. Across the season, 41 curlew chicks hatched at Glenwherry. Farmers installed lapwing fallow plots — bare or lightly cultivated ground that makes it easier for chicks to find insects — which RSPB NI credits for lapwing’s strongest year since 2017. Wetland creation and rush control, funded through agri-environment schemes and the Environmental Farming Scheme Group Project, supported the recovery in snipe numbers. More than 100 farmers took part, granting site access and adjusting grazing and cutting dates around nesting periods.

Why does it matter?

Glenwherry is one of only a handful of UK sites currently productive enough to grow its curlew population rather than merely sustain it, a distinction conservationists watch closely given decades of steep decline. RSPB NI Conservation Officer Stephen Magennis said: “The 2025 breeding season in Glenwherry was a great success for breeding waders.” Local farmer James Bonnar, who has taken part since the partnership began, said: “Every year we look forward to seeing the curlew returning to our fields, the noise over the last five years has become infectious.”

What were the key results?

• 45 curlew pairs recorded in Glenwherry during the 2025 breeding season
• 41 curlew chicks hatched, a productivity rate of 0.91 chicks per pair
• 18 curlew nests fitted with temporary predator-proof fencing, out of 21 located
• 32 lapwing pairs recorded, the highest count since 2017, with at least 26 chicks fledged
• 243 snipe pairs counted across the Antrim Hills, up just over 20% on 2024
• More than 100 farmers took part in habitat management across the fifth year of the partnership

What happens next?

RSPB NI plans to expand the programme into neighbouring Glencloy in 2026, adding three new monitoring officers to cover the wider area. The charity said fallow-plot installation, predator fencing, and wetland habitat work will continue across Glenwherry as farmers renew agri-environment agreements. Results from the 2026 breeding season had not yet been published at the time of writing.