Man treks 53 miles in bird costume to raise awareness about endangered species

A bird lover has walked 53 miles dressed in a homemade costume to raise awareness for one of Great Britain’s most iconic and threatened birds.

Matt Trevelyan, 46, walked the distance dressed as his favorite bird — the Eurasian Curlew — which is endangered in the United Kingdom.

The DIY costume was 3 yards long and was made out of split bamboo, muslin, and polystyrene.

The Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer walked with friends and family around the Nidderdale Way route, in the Yorkshire Dales in support for conservation projects. 

Matt said: “The Curlew is my favorite bird and I’ve been saddened as their numbers have reduced massively around the UK.

“They have such a beautiful song — it pulls at your heart strings — it was great to hear it whilst walking the awareness raising adventure.”

Matt completed the walk over Easter Saturday and Sunday in the run-up to World Curlew Day (April 21).

World Curlew day was created in 2017 by Mary Colwell to raise awareness of the declining numbers of curlews and the troubles they face due to habitat loss, land-use changes, and climate pressures.

Starting at Pateley Bridge he walked 25 miles on day one which included a 14.5 mile trek to Middlesmoor before stopping for lunch then continuing a further 10.5 miles to Bewerley. 

Then on day two Matt walked and occasionally ran the remaining 28 miles completing the figure of eight shaped route back in Pateley Bridge.

Matt said: “The walk was a joy — there were beautiful views and the weather was perfect. 

“I underestimated how fast I could walk meaning I was trundling along for a solid 12 hours a day.

“The costume was fairly easy to walk in as it was very lightweight.

“As long as I pointed the beak in the correct direction and ducked underneath the occasional branch I was fine.”

Matt told it took him three days to create the costume which included a four yard long beak and hand-painted final details.

He said: “It was a lot of trial and error — but I’m glad it came out so well as I wanted it to be as beautiful as the actual bird. 

“The hardest part to make was the head and the beak which was quite tricky but once that was out the way it was a lot easier to finish. 

“I was never worried about the walk I just wanted to make sure I had done a good job with the costume.

According to Matt, Nidderdale is one of the last remaining strongholds for the endangered bird. 

Numbers of the bird have halved over the last 20 years with now only 58,000 remaining in the wild.

Matt has told this is due to a “number of factors.”

He said: “Curlews are habitual meaning they will return to the same field every year to lay eggs and tend the hatchlings.

“They like quiet fields with tall grass — but these fields are frequently used by farmers to produce silage and in the process the tractors crush the eggs or kill the birds.

“It isn’t just farming though that is causing damage — the UK also has large populations of crows and foxes which steal the eggs or meal on the birds.

Matt hopes his walk inspires people to get involved with local conservation and “engage” in nature “responsibly.”

He said: “It would be great if people were able to contact with nature by being careful when engaging and enjoying. 

“If we were to lose the Curlew we would lose a rich part of our wildlife and British Culture.”