Welsh curlew film highlights the plight of the curlew

A film recently produced by a film artist  based in Bala highlights her personal experience in the loss of curlew from the area in which she grew up.

Malka Holmes grew up in Cwm Hesgin, a remote valley to the north of Llyn Celyn.  In her childhood the sound of breeding curlew  was a very familiar sound for her whole family and inspired her father to write his poem, Curlew’s nest

Greengage  films have produced an 8 minute film which  shows the curlew on their breeding grounds as well as the efforts being made  by a range of people to help the current population of this most iconic of upland farmland birds.

 “My latest film, Stunned by silence is a campaign film, featuring the declining Curlew, it has been a labour of love and grew out of my personal experience, growing up in a remote shepherd’s cottage just within the Snowdonia National Park.

Cwm Hesgin is situated in a very remote wild valley  to the North of Bala, within the Eryri/Snowdonia National Park. The cottage is surrounded by peatland and a lot of the valley is  designated as a  SSSI.

As a child I looked forward to every spring when the Curlew would return from the coast to breed. I used to go out with my binoculars to watch the Curlew on the moor. I often bumped into Iolo Williams up there, he was the RSPB species officer at the time. We now work together on wildlife films.

Sadly about twenty years ago the Curlew disappeared from the valley I grew up in, it never returned to these breeding grounds. Hence the title Stunned by Silence as it’s so quiet up there now without the Curlew’s call.

My father Clyde Holmes, lived in Cwm Hesgin for over forty years. He was an eco poet and an artist and he painted the ever-changing landscape of the uplands. Out of many encounters with the Curlew his poem Curlew’s nest was born, this poem features in the film.

Curlews’ Nest 

Must be near the farmhouse

For weeks now

he gasps with wheezy scream.

Above my head, his curved bill

An ominous, sabred silhouette.

Incensed wing-flames

An aerial attack

Sputtering his aggression

In machine-gun rhythms

When I step out

of his circled territory

His sound magically ceases

I am stunned by silence-

freed from his anxiety.                          

(Clyde Holmes)

Throughout my career I’ve met some very dedicated and passionate people involved in Curlew conservation, all approaching the subject from different angles. This was another part of the inspiration to produce Stunned by Silence. I feel the film reflects this diversity and the importance of everyone’s involvement if we are to save this iconic species from extinction.

The contributors in the film are an example of this, Mary Colwell with her devotion to the natural world. David Gray with his creative drive, Dion Williams, a farmer with a deep connection to the Curlew on his land and Lucy Foster and Sam McCready from the RSPB who work tirelessly throughout the breeding season, protecting and monitoring the Curlew.

This film is designed to inspire people to save the Curlew from extinction. David Gray says in the film “Action is consoling.  I think this is a poignant message for conservation and brings some hope for saving the beautiful Curlew and the ecosystems and habitat it depends on for its survival.”

Malka is happy for anyone working in Wales or beyond to  use the film to raise awareness of the plight of the curlew.

If you would like to use the film  feel free to download it from the greengage website https://lh3.google.com/u/0/d/1RPQwXwmanoQAzDfeXCHamTDui_u8X2R7=w402-h300-p-k-nu-iv1

or please contact Malka to discuss its use greengagefilms@gmail.com

© Greengage Films