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Public discussion of the bird first surfaced on 6 May, on the UKBirdnet mailing list, which at that time was the main internet discussion forum for
British birders. Early postings from Phil Hansbro (based on a conversation with Brett Richards, who had been to see the bird) and from Ian Broadbent made
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published an account of the bird, written by Tim
Cleeves, his first public statement on the bird. The article dealt in detail with the circumstances of the bird's finding, its appearance, his reasons for making a confident identification of the bird as a slender-billed curlew, ageing and sexing of
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On 9–10 August 2002, and possibly for a few days before that, another bird showing characteristics of slender-billed curlew was reported from
Druridge Bay. This bird was described as being 25% smaller than Eurasian curlew with a slender bill tapering to a narrow point, with black spotting on its
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News of the bird was broadcast on the national rare bird information services. As, at this stage, there was not a consensus on the identity of the bird, some of the services used cautious language, e.g. Birdline referred to the bird as a "controversial curlew thought by some observers to be a
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in
October 2004, and an identification article by Andrea Corso (et al. 2014) re-opened the debate on the identity of the Druridge bird. In 2013, slender-billed curlew was removed from the British List following a review of the Druridge Bay record by the BBRC and BOURC.
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Slender-billed". Because of the uncertainty over the identity, some birders chose not to travel to see it, although many others did. The bird was last seen on
Thursday 7 May. It was photographed (albeit distantly) and three video recordings were made.
55:, one of the rarest birds in the world; however, this identification provoked scepticism from experts. The bird was initially accepted as this species (and therefore became the first record of slender-billed curlew in Britain) by the
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that first-summer slender-billed curlews may not have eye-rings, or that the strength of this feature may vary between individuals, and that in fact the
Druridge bird did have an eye-ring, albeit not as prominent as the Merja Zerga
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slender-billed curlews, their conservation status and likelihood of vagrancy. The article was accompanied by an editorial comment endorsing
Cleeves's views. Cleeves also wrote a short account for the July edition of
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to see the bird, stating that they believed it to be a slender-billed curlew. However, by the time this bird was last seen, most observers had formed the opinion that this bird was a first-winter
Eurasian curlew.
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of an account by Tim
Cleeves of the finding of the bird, and a summary of the BBRC analysis of submitted descriptions, photographs and video footage, written by Jimmy Steele and Didier Vangeluwe.
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from Chris Heard outlined the same concerns, and pointed out also that
Eurasian curlew can show spotted flank patterning and white underwings. This letter drew a response from Brett Richards.
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These two articles prompted letters from Chris Heard outlining reasons why he believed that the case for identification of the bird as a slender-billed curlew was not proven. In his letter to
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its bill was shorter than is typical for Eurasian curlew, and straight for the first half of its length, rather than evenly curved; the bill was also thin and narrow in both depth and width
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Collinson J.M., Rowlands A., Steele J.G., Mclnerny C.J. & Hudson N. 2014. The review of the record of Slender-billed Curlew at Druridge Bay, Northumberland. British Birds 107: 389–404.
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community, but a number of British and foreign birders are not convinced that the bird was a slender-billed curlew, including several high-profile figures. A first-winter curlew at
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flanks, and unmarked white underwings. This bird was not photographed, and only seen by a small number of observers, and no formal submission was made to the Rarities Committee.
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One other point of note is that the bird's upperwing-coverts were worn, and they had a silvery appearance, contrasting with its scapular feathers which were very dark.
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An editorial comment was published in reply to this letter, which included comments made by a number of the observers involved with the Druridge bird. A letter to
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Opinions on the exact identity of the bird remain divided — the conclusion arrived at by BBRC and BOURC is shared by a significant majority of the British
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Corso A., Jansen J.J.F.J. & Kokay S. 2014. A review if the identification criteria and variability of the Slender-billed Curlew. British Birds 107: 339–370.
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in May 1998, whose species identification proved to be controversial. The bird was identified by its finder, and most others who saw it, as a first-summer
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118:11) has claimed that a large part of the credit for the record should rest with him, due to his role in persuading others to travel to see the bird.
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Steele, Jimmy and Didier Vangeluwe (2002) From the Rarities Committee's files: the Slender-billed Curlew at Druridge Bay, Northumberland, in 1998
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it also differed slightly in structure, being slimmer, and in particular thinner-necked and shorter-legged than a typical Eurasian curlew
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a strong case for the identification as Slender-billed Curlew. Other observers raised questions, with three aspects causing concern:
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the bird's flanks were clean white, patterned with rows of oval black spots, and lacked any transverse barring or anchor-shaped marks
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areas and asked them to come to Druridge to give an opinion. The bird was watched by six observers until 20.50 hours that evening.
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that the bill, while short and slim, was not correctly shaped, being too straight, and that short-billed Eurasian curlews do exist
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The following are Chris Heard's letters expressing doubt about the bird's identity, and Brett Richards' reply to the second:
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that the back shape of slender-billed curlew varies depending on what the bird is doing, and so did that of the Druridge bird
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In October 2004, another bird showing some characteristics consistent with slender-billed curlew, was found, this time at
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357:. This bird generated considerable debate, with some observers, including Didier Vangeluwe, who had travelled from
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whether all possible alternative identifications (e.g. an aberrant Eurasian curlew or a hybrid) had been ruled out.
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The paper by the British Birds Rarities Committee, explaining their decision to accept the identification is:
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The bird in question was found by an unknown birdwatcher on Monday 4 May 1998 and was first identified as a
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that slender-billed curlew's bill shape is likely to vary, as does that of Eurasian curlew and whimbrel
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the fact that it showed a quite different appearance from the well-watched slender-billed curlews at
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Although the identification of this bird is generally credited to Tim Cleeves, Brett Richards (
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BBRC comments about one of the photos of the bird published with Tim Cleeves' finders account
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that the Druridge curlew's head was not small and rounded, while its back was too rounded
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Cleeves, Tim (2002) Slender-billed Curlew in Northumberland: new to Britain and Ireland
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The discussion about this bird's identity reopened the debate about the Druridge bird.
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The bird was accepted as the first record of slender-billed curlew for Britain by the
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Cleeves, Tim (1998) The Slender-billed Curlew in Northumberland - a new British bird
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the global rarity of the species and the likelihood of its occurrence in Britain
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in size, it was closer to a whimbrel than to a typical Eurasian curlew
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that the Druridge bird's head-shape did appear at times to be correct
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The paper that rejects the record on behalf of the BOURC and BBRC
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Heard, Chris (1998) That curlew: an alternative identification
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Records Committee and this was announced in a joint BBRC/BOURC
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The BOURC/BBRC Press Release announcing the bird's acceptance
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Heard, Chris (1998) Identification of Slender-billed Curlew
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Cleeves, Tim (1998) The accidental discovery of the decade?
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it had a very white-looking tail, with narrow greyish bars
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11(7):275 (with editorial comments on pages 275 and 276)
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546:McLoughlin, John (2002) Was it a Slender-billed?
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475:Richards, Brett (1998) Curlew controversy
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222:that the bird did not show an eye-ring.
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127:The bird was close in appearance to
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579:Environment of Northumberland
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383:. You can help by
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563:Categories
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421:References
198:magazine.
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549:Birdwatch
477:Birdwatch
470:Birdwatch
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392:June 2008
324:June 2008
239:Birdwatch
228:Birdwatch
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108:Birdwatch
67:Discovery
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290:Minsmere
96:Tyneside
88:whimbrel
59:and the
359:Belgium
355:Suffolk
294:Suffolk
286:birding
176:Morocco
255:birds.
158:Debate
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