The oldest ringed curlew in the UK has been spotted by birdwatchers in the New Forest.
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has recorded the female coastal wader, which was confirmed to be 33 years and nine months old, in Ogdens near Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
The conservationists said the bird, nicknamed Mrs Ogdens, was initially ringed as a juvenile on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, in the early 1990s.
GWCT said the previous UK and Irish longevity record was held by a bird that was recovered in 2011 aged 32 years and seven months.
GWCT said in 2022 its researchers recaptured Mrs Ogdens in the New Forest, colour ringed her and fitted her with a satellite tag.
That summer, with the help of Forestry England rangers who monitored and supported curlew breeding in the area, she successfully fledged one chick at the age of 29.
The species is on the UK Red List for birds, which means it faces critical threats like severe population declines, habitat loss, or high risk of extinction.
"The New Forest is an ideal natural habitat for a curlew," said the trust's Elli Rivers, who has been studying the breeding patterns of the birds in the New Forest since 2020.
She said they are faithful to certain sites and GPS has shown that Mrs Ogdens uses the pastures in the Avon Valley to feed every year and returns to Brownsea for the winter.
"It shows curlews definitely stick to a plan if it's working for them," Rivers said.
"She clearly had the conditions here in the South that she needed to live a long life."
Rivers said this is the first time a curlew has been recorded at this age in the country.
She said: "Curlews are big, sometimes noisy birds and if you see lots of breeding adults around it may seem the population is doing well.
"But if these birds are all in an older age bracket, there's a risk the population could suddenly go off a cliff if there isn't adequate numbers of chicks coming back into the breeding pool.
"That's why it's critical to understand what is really happening when they are trying to breed, and what might be limiting their success."
She added that her research had shown positive signs for the species, with a one-year-old bird returning to the New Forest to breed in 2024.
Rivers believes more needs to be done for curlews but she has praised Forestry England, which has been supportive of her work.
"Everything I have learned so far has shown me what can be achieved for wildlife when organisations work together,"
The New Forest is a special protection area for birds that are under pressure in many other parts of the UK.
Forestry England has urged visitors to stick to main gravel tracks and keep dogs with them in parts of the national park to protect vulnerable ground-nesting birds, like curlews, during the breeding season.
Several car parks - including Clayhill, Crockford, Hincheslea, Ocknell Pond, Ogdens, Shatterford and Yew Tree Heath - are closed, with Beaulieu Heath partially shut.
Orange signs mark areas close to nests, while red "stop" signs indicate sites that must be avoided.