Historically, the Stone-curlew was found more widely across the UK, but numbers reported to the Rare Breeding Birds Panel dropped to a low point in 1977; however, numbers in the 1970s are likely to have been significantly under-reported and the true low point may have been in the mid-1980s when around 100 pairs were breeding (RBBP report 1985). Comprehensive fieldwork by the RSPB began in 1985 and the species has subsequently benefited from intensive conservation efforts with numbers peaking at 473 pairs in 2012. The five-year mean population estimate from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel for the period 2015–2019 was 328 breeding pairs, but complete survey coverage is no longer achieved following the end of EU-LIFE+ project funding in 2016 (Eaton et al. 2021). Despite the population increases, the range has decreased by 42% since the 1968–72 Atlas, with the contraction occurring prior to the 1988–91 Atlas (Balmer et al. 2013) and hence during the initial decline prior to increased conservation focus on this species.

Stone-curlews are summer visitors to southern and eastern heathlands from late March onwards. In some years birds linger into November and there are occasional winter records.

Weekly pattern of occurrence

The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.