New Forest curlew becomes the oldest living bird of its species in the UK - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

A female curlew at the centre of a study by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has broken the UK longevity record at the age of nearly 34.

The bird was spotted last week, identified through her colour rings and her age confirmed as 33 years and 8 or 9 months.

Initially ringed as a juvenile on Brownsea Island in September 1992, she would have hatched that summer. In 2022, researchers from GWCT recaptured her in the New Forest, colour ringed her and fitted her with a satellite tag. That summer, with the help of Forestry England rangers who monitored and protected curlew breeding in the area, she successfully fledged one chick at the age of 29.

Her movements continued to be tracked over the next couple of years and showed her feeding in the Avon Valley in March-April prior to spending the breeding season in the New Forest and the winters in Brandt’s Bay and on Studland Heath. 

In 2023 and 2024 she continued to attempt to breed in the New Forest but did not manage to hatch any more chicks. Having been recaptured at Ogdens, near Fordingbridge, researchers nicknamed her Mrs Ogdens. The previous UK & Irish longevity record (BTO) was held by a bird that was recovered in 2011 and its age confirmed from its rings as 32 years and 7 months.

Elli Rivers, GWCT researcher who is writing her PhD based on her studies of Mrs Ogdens and other curlew breeding in the New Forest, says: “It’s great to see that this female has survived long enough to break the longevity record. However, it shows how urgently we need to protect the nesting efforts of our local birds and bring more juveniles into the breeding pool. If she’s representative of the age range of her fellow birds, there’s a risk the population could suddenly crash.”