The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) is a medium sized wader, one of the 6 species of curlews that exist on our planet today. It used to breed in SW Siberia, where in the period of 1909-1924 very few nests had been found. Since then, no one has managed to find a single nest.

After the completion of the breeding period, Slender-billed Curlews were moving, through SE Russia and SE Europe, to N and NW Africa (mainly in Morocco), on a 5,000-6,500 km migration route. A smaller population seemed to winter along the Persian Gulf.

During the second half of the 19th and up to the 1920s, the Slender-billed Curlew was an abundant species, its populations being more dense that those of the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) and the Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

Since then, and without knowing why, its population started to decrease rapidly. The last 30 years, the decrease was so dramatic, that today the Slender-billed Curlew has the sorrow privilege of being the rarest curlew of the world, with a global population of a few hundreds birds, probably not more than 50-200. As a result, this species is globally Critically Endangered, according to the IUCN. At the same time it's a bird that we know very little about its biology and its ecological preferences (food habits, reproductive behavior, etc).

Up to the 1960's several Slender-billed Curlews were wintering in coastal wetlands of Morocco, the most important being the Meria Zerga Lagoon where up till 1994/95 the presence of 1-5 birds was regular. Since then no Slender-billed Curlew has been recorded in Morocco, a fact that discouraged even the most optimist ornithologists, and any hope seemed to be lost. Then, out of a sudden, a flock of 20 Slender-billed Curlews was seen and photographed in Italy, in the winter of 1995. This was the largest concentration seen in the last few years showing that, despite the severe problems they were facing, Slender-billed Curlews were still surviving, somewhere between Siberia and the Mediterranean.

The first record of a Slender-billed Curlew in Greece dates to 1857, in Corfu. Since then, 104 observations have been recorded, a very important number showing the world-wide importance of Greece for the species. Most observations come from the Evros Delta, Porto Lagos Lagoon and Axios Delta, with most of the birds being seen from late March to mid May and during September-October, when they are passing through Greece for their long migration journey to and from Siberia.

Recently the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Birdlife partner in the UK, launched a new tracking campaign for the Slender-billed Curlew. Greece, through the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), couldn't be absent from this effort - in which several other partners participate. As a matter of fact, the monitoring of this species from Greek ornithologists had begun many years before, with the implementation of Conservation Actions (1988) and a LIFE Project (1999).

A Working Group for the Slender-billed Curlew has been created by the HOS, for the promotion in Greece of this international effort to save the most endangered species of Europe. For this, we contribute by providing all available data, after their evaluation by the Hellenic Rarities Committee (HRC) and the Scientific Committee of the HOS.

The results of the work of the Group that are presented on this website will make a useful tool for ornithologists and birdwatchers who will participate at the voluntary tracking project for the species in the Greek wetlands. The project will start in Spring of 2009 and will be monitored by the Working Group. In brief, its basic aim is to inform ornithologists and birdwatchers and make a good coverage of the wetlands, especially those with recent observations of the species. Those who are interested in participating may utilize the prepared material. This material will assist the experienced observer in the identification of the species (focusing on what to look for during the identification of the species) as well as in chosing in which sites and dates he should be more alert).

It seems that the current period is very crucial for the species' rescue. The location of even a single individual is an extremely important event. In case you're absolutely sure that you saw a Slender-billed Curlew, first of all you have to avoid any disturbance. Then, record its behavior and, if it's feasible, photograph, take video or even make a sound recording, every given information is highly useful. Optionally, you can inform the Group for any population of Eurasian Curlew and Whimbrel you have recorded, the optics you have used, the percentage of coverage of the wetland you visited or anything else that must be mentioned.

Keep in mind that the immediate informing of the Working Group of any potential new record of the species in our country constitutes a nodal point in the conservation of this rare bird. The faster the observation is reported, checked and approved (from the HRC) the higher are the chances of implementing the basic aim of this worldwide effort, the placement of a satellite transmitter so as to locate the unknown critical habitats of this species.