The Druridge Bay curlew was a curlew which was present in Druridge Bay, Northumberland in May 1998, whose species identification proved to be controversial. The bird was identified by its finder, and most others who saw it, as a first-summer Slender-billed Curlew, one of the rarest birds in the world; however, this identification provoked scepticism from some quarters. The bird was accepted as this species (and therefore became the first record of Slender-billed Curlew in Britain) by the British Birds Rarities Committee and the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee.
Opinions on the exact identity of the bird remain divided — the conclusion arrived at by BBRC and BOURC is shared by a significant majority of the British birding community, but a number of British birders are not convinced that the bird was a Slender-billed Curlew, including several high-profile figures. A first-winter curlew at Minsmere, Suffolk in October 2004 re-opened the debate on the identity of the Druridge bird.
Read more about Druridge Bay Curlew: Discovery, Comparison To Eurasian Curlew, Debate, BBRC/BOURC Acceptance, The August 2002 Druridge Bird, The Minsmere Curlew
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