Skip to content

Eurasian Curlews Used Larger Areas and More Mudflats Early in the Wintering Season

Close Eurasian curlew in the German Wadden Sea
Research · Ecology

GPS tracking of 62 Eurasian curlews (Numenius arquata) at two major European wintering sites found that the birds used larger areas and spent more time on mudflats during the first stage of the wintering season. The study, published on 24 August 2026, compared curlews in the Pertuis Charentais in France with birds in the German part of the Wadden Sea.

Home-range size was similar between the two sites despite their contrasting waterbird densities. Here, home range means the area an individual bird used during a given stage of the winter, rather than a defended territory. Curlews used larger home ranges during the day than at night, and individuals varied considerably in the amount of space they used, without a clear relationship with sex.

The strongest seasonal difference appeared during the first winter stage, from arrival through September. Average home-range size was about 669 hectares at this stage, compared with 468 hectares from October to January and 437 hectares from February until departure. Curlews also spent a greater share of time on mudflats and selected foraging areas farther from the coast early in the season. The authors suggest that the greater early-winter space use may reflect higher energy requirements at this stage, together with weaker competition with other species.

Habitat use also differed between the two wintering areas. Birds in the German Wadden Sea fed mainly on mudflats. In the Pertuis Charentais, curlews used mudflats as well as biogenic reefs, oyster-farming areas and seagrass beds, with seagrass particularly favoured during the first stage. The authors argue that early-winter distributions deserve greater attention in conservation planning because birds are more mobile at this time while coastal tourism pressure remains high.

Sources and image credit

  1. Donnez, M., Schwemmer, P., Mercker, M., Garthe, S., Jiguet, F., Bange, A., Jomat, L., Rousseau, P., & Bocher, P. (2026). Variations in movement and habitat selection by Eurasian curlew at two important sites in Europe throughout winter. Ecology and Evolution, 16(8), e74164. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.74164Primary peer-reviewed open-access study first published 24 August 2026. GPS tracking of 62 curlews at Pertuis Charentais, France, and the German Wadden Sea found similar overall home-range sizes between sites, larger daytime than nighttime ranges, greater space use and mudflat use during the first winter stage, and site-specific habitat selection.

Image: Lotte76 — Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) on Norderney in Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park, Germany, photographed 29 May 2013; Wikimedia Commons. Representative image from one of the study regions; this bird was not part of the GPS study. CC BY-SA 4.0. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Ecology

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.