Curlews are Britain’s largest wading bird, known for their haunting, evocative calls that embody wild places. Their distinctive voice has stirred emotions for centuries, inspiring poetry, art and music across the generations.

A solitary bird stands at the edge of a mudflat. Its silhouette is unmistakable: a plump body on slender, stilt-like legs, a long neck curving into a small head, and that elegant, downward-curved bill. The smooth, rounded contours of the curlew appeal to something deep and ancestral in all of us.

But beneath this beauty lies a crisis. Over the past 20 years, UK curlew numbers have halved. The Eurasian Curlew is now one of Britain’s most endangered birds. With a quarter of the world population breeding in the UK and Ireland, its decline is nothing short of catastrophic, the curlew is showing all the signs of becoming the next Great Auk. This is one of the most urgent conservation stories in modern British ecology.

In Curlew Moon, Mary Colwell embarks on an extraordinary 500-mile walk across Britain and Ireland, travelling from the west coast of Ireland to the east coast of England to uncover what is happening to this much-loved bird. Beginning in early spring, she follows the curlews to their breeding grounds, watches them nest on the Welsh hills, and journeys through England as their young begin to hatch. Her walk ends on the Lincolnshire coast, where fledglings test their wings, and where many curlews will return for the winter.

This evocative and deeply moving nature book chronicles Colwell’s remarkable journey, beautifully illustrated by Jessica Holm. Weaving together travel writing, natural history and the cultural significance of this iconic species, Curlew Moon offers a call to protect a bird that has fascinated humanity for millennia, and now desperately needs our help.