In an effort to raise awareness on endangered bird species, a man embarked on a journey in a bird costume and hiked 53 miles. 46-year-old Matt Trevelyan wore a costume of his favorite bird, the Eurasian Curlew, which is also under threat of becoming extinct in the United Kingdom.
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According to the New York Post, this bird lover made his costume out of split bamboo, muslin, and polystyrene. It spans three yards long, and is massive when you look at him wearing it. To support this conservation project, Matt marched along the Nidderdale Way route in the Yorkshire Dales. He wasn't alone, as friends and family hiked alongside him.
Man In Bird Costume Treks 53 Miles To Raise Awareness On Endangered Curlews
Matt isn't just a bird fanatic, he's also an officer for the Farming in Protected Landscapes program. These efforts matter a lot to him, especially since his favorite bird species is in danger. "The Curlew is my favorite bird and I've been saddened as their numbers have reduced massively around the UK," he said.
"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 managed to complete the 53-mile journey over Easter Saturday and Sunday. The trek began at Pateley Bridge where he walked 25 miles on his first day. This included a 14.5 mile hike to Middlesmoor, a lunch stop, then 10.5 more miles to Bewerley.
By the second day, Matt traveled his final 28 miles back to Pateley Bridge. He finished the figure eight-shaped route by switching between walking and running.
Matt completed the hike just before World Curlew Day, a special day just for this bird species celebrated on April 21. Mary Colwell created this holiday in 2017 with the same intentions as Matt. She hoped to raise awareness of the species' declining numbers. Also, the holiday intends to teach people about Curlews' difficulties with habitat loss, climate pressures, and land-use changes.
Currently, Nidderdale is one of the last areas that keep the Curlews safe. There are only around 58,000 of this species left in the wild, and Matt said it was due to a "number of factors." These birds "are habitual meaning they will return to the same field every year to lay eggs and tend the hatchlings."
Not only do environmental factors play into their endangerment, but so do humans. "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," said Matt.
"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."
The Most Difficult Part Of The 53 Mile Walk
Despite how difficult the trek may seem, Matt enjoyed it thoroughly. The walk was a joy," he said. "There were beautiful views and the weather was perfect."
His costume wasn't even as bad to walk with as it looked. "I underestimated how fast I could walk meaning I was trundling along for a solid 12 hours a day," said Matt. "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."
The most difficult part of this effort was making the costume itself. Matt said it took three days to complete it. This included crafting the four-yard-long beak and hand-painting the entirety of the 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," he explained. "I was never worried about the walk I just wanted to make sure I had done a good job with the costume."
