Amy Burns said the success of the curlew is testimony to the work staff have done on the project.

An “incredible improvement” in curlew numbers in Northern Ireland is being celebrated. The distinctive birds, with their long bills and hauntings calls, were once common in the region but had declined by almost 82% since 1987 to just 150 breeding pairs and were described as facing the threat of extinction.

The RSPB NI said the efforts of dedicated staff and local farmers working in partnership through the Curlew LIFE project meant numbers are increasing again. The UK-wide four-year project, funded by the European Commission LIFE Programme,