Upcoming Events

The first curious curlew event.

Curious Curlew Mornings

Tue 9am-11am:

  • May: 2nd & 23rd
  • June: 13th
  • July: 11th

RSPB Insh Marshes - Lookout

Discover Curlew secrets throughout the breeding season with the Curlew LIFE team! Get a great view of the birds with our binoculars and scopes and put your questions to us about these curious birds.

No need to book - just drop in any time on the dates above from 9am to 11am. For more info, email us at insh@rspb.org.uk.

Past Events

Curlew - Swch Maes Gwyn - Ben Porter (3)

Curlew LIFE Waders Welcome

Fri 17 Mar 2023, 6pm-10pm
Loch Insh Outdoor Centre, Kincraig

Celebrate the start of the wader breeding season with arts, crafts and fascinating talks about waders in the Insh area. We kick off with a welcome drink and appetisers, and a chance to see wader arts, crafts and posters. You'll then hear from a range of people who are helping Curlews and other waders, including local farmers and guest speakers:

  • Patrick Laurie, Working For Waders, farmer and author of Native: Life in a Vanishing Landscape
  • Merlyn Driver, musician and driving force behind the Curlew Sounds Project
  • Sarah West, RSPB Strathspey Wetlands and Waders Initiative
  • Thijs Claes from Curlew LIFE
  • Jos Milner, East Cairngorms Moorland Partnership
  • Kyle Cruickshank and Duncan Millar, farmers from Dulnain Bridge

Plus music and poetry:

  • Emma Wright with Clarsach, accompanying Tom Roulston and Manouk Bakermans
  • Sandy MacDonnell (Highland Pipes, bellow pipes)

Find out more on the event page on Facebook.

painted curlew

Paint Your Own Colourful Curlew

Sun 14th August @12.30pm 2022
RSPB Geltsdale and Hadrian's Wall - The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre

The session will start with a curlew call and a curlew spell, to prepare you for the magic of creating your very own colourful curlew. Local artist Amy Brooks (Mrs Barts) will be alongside you all the way with her rainbow palate of bright colours using watercolours. Amy will be joined by our Project Officer Tina, who will be around to astound you with curlew facts, and what Curlew LIFE and Northumberland National Park are doing to secure the future of this evocative bird.

Gold-Leaf-Curlew-1-e1657118476850-800x550

Gold Leaf Curlew Workshop

Sun 14th July 2022
RSPB Geltsdale and Hadrian's Wall - The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre

A relaxed workshop working with local artist, Amy Brooks (Mrs Barts), and Curlew Life, where you will create your own impressive version of a curlew using watercolour paints and gold leaf. Mrs Barts is here to help with the artistic side of things and our Project Officer Tina will be around to astound you with curlew facts, and what the RSPB and Northumberland National Park are doing to secure the future of this evocative bird.

Project officer guiding a curlew event on paddleboards

Photo by Chiara Allegia

Paddleboarding Tour of RSPB Insh Marshes

Sun 4th Sept 2022
RSPB Insh Marshes

Experience Insh Marshes from a new perspective!

Under the guidance of an instructor from Loch Insh Outdoor Centre, our Curlew LIFE Project Officer Thijs, will lead this special guided tour through the reserve, where you can experience the unique habitats and species at Insh Marshes from the water.

Feel free to bring your own paddleboard if you have one, but don't worry if not - Cairngorms Connect has kindly sponsored this event so equipment hire is included with your ticket, if needed.

CurlewLIFE_RSPBInshMarshes_2021-07-8_18_©LauraPreston (1)

Curious Curlew Mornings

Tue 9am-10.30am - 5+19 Apr, 3+17 May, 7+21 Jun, 5+19 Jul 2022
RSPB Insh Marshes - Lookout

Drop-in and meet members of the project team for an update on the curlew breeding season. Fire us your questions about the Curlew LIFE project while enjoying the exceptional view of one of Scotland’s most exciting curlew breeding sites. With some luck, we will be able to observe various types of curlew behaviour.

Hadrian's Wall by Laura Preston

Creating curlew friendly landscapes

Wed 9 Mar 2022 at 7.00pm
RSPB Geltsdale and Hadrian's Wall - Virtual Event

Learn about the Eurasian curlew, the work going on to support them in the Hadrian’s Wall landscape and how you might be able to help. This talk is aimed at farmers and land managers but we welcome any with an interest in helping curlew.

Hadrians-Wall-Geltsdale_Elizabeth-Charman

Celebrating the curlew in the uplands

Fri 4 Mar 2022 at 7.00pm
RSPB Geltsdale and Hadrian's Wall - Virtual Event

An online celebration to welcome the curlew home to its upland nesting habitat, open to all! Featuring film, live talks and discussion, this online event is a celebration of the curlew as it returns to its summer breeding grounds. A live Q&A will be hosted at the end of the event.

Drone image of the Dell of Killiehuntly, Insh Marshes. Clearly showing the result of the topping management.

Introduction to curlews and Curlew LIFE at RSPB Insh Marshes

Wed 9 Feb 2022 at 6.30-7.30pm
RSPB Insh Marshes - Virtual Event

Get stuck in the world of curlew behaviour and ecology and reflect with us on the first year of the Curlew LIFE project on RSPB Insh Marshes.

Curlew Chick by Tony Pope

Curlews in Crisis – Securing the Future for Breeding Waders

Tue 18 Jan 2022 at 7pm
Lough Erne Lowlands - Virtual Event

In partnership with Lough Erne Landscape Partnership. This workshop will focus on the plight of the curlew and other breeding wader bird species once commonly found roaming the farmlands and wetlands of the Lough Erne landscape.

Lough Erne Highland cattle cot by Sarah McCaffrey

Farmland Management to Support Breeding Waders

Thu 9 Dec 2021 at 7pm
Lough Erne Lowlands - Virtual Event

In partnership with Lough Erne Landscape Partnership. This workshop will focus on the plight of the curlew and other breeding wader bird species once commonly found roaming the farmlands and wetlands of the Lough Erne landscape.

Curlew at Lough Erne by Amy Burns

Curlews and Other Farmland Birds

Tue 16 Nov 2021 at 7pm
Lough Erne Lowlands - Virtual Event

In partnership with Lough Erne Landscape Partnership. This workshop will focus on learning about the different types of breeding waders, their lifecycles and the key reasons for their decline.