One of Britain’s most endangered birds has been pictured at the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.
The curlew, with its distinctive long, downcurved bill and evocative call, is one of 64 species of bird recorded at the Thames Water site so far this year - among around 150 seen there over the years.
Waders such as dunlins, sandpipers, oystercatchers, redshanks and godwits; birds of prey including sparrowhawks and kestrels; and seabirds like the Caspian gull have all been spotted at the 300-acre site, which treats the waste of more than four million Londoners.
Thames Water biodiversity officer Ian Crump said: “Sewage treatment sites are great places for birds to thrive - they’re near rivers and streams where there’s an abundance of insects to eat, and the sites themselves have various ponds and lagoons, along with areas left to grow wild.
“We had a rare green sandpiper at Basingstoke a few weeks ago, and now to see a curlew at Beckton is really something.
“Beckton is on the tidal end of the Thames and, along with the Beckton Creekside Nature Reserve next door, has reedbeds for a variety of warblers and mudflats perfect for waders.
“We’ve been monitoring bird species at Beckton for many years, with more than 148 to date and 64 species already recorded in 2021.”
The curlew is Europe’s largest wading bird and feeds on worms, shellfish and shrimps on winter estuaries and summer moors.
Although there are 66,000 breeding pairs in the UK, with 140,000 individual birds wintering across the country, the curlew population is in severe decline - putting it on the "red list" of conservation importance.
Beckton Creekside Nature Reserve manager Danny Regan said: “The nature reserve, sewage works and riverside walk really are a jewel in London’s wildlife crown.
“As well as some amazing birds, it’s also a haven for grass snakes and other reptiles, rabbits, bank voles, shrews and field mice, and butterflies and insects can be found year-round."
Beckton Sewage Works, which generates more than half the power it needs through its wind turbine and other renewables, will be connected to London’s new "super sewer", the 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel.
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