A new group will be set up in a bid to save rare birds in the area.

Curlew and Lapwings are vanishing from the county at an alarming rate with the breeding population of the Curlew plummeting by 77 per cent and the Lapwing 73 per cent between 1990 and 2010.

The first step is to find where the birds exactly are in the area and then members of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust can work with landowners and farmers to attempt to reverse the decline.

The work has already begun with several community wildlife groups carrying out surveys in Shropshire for a 'Save Our Curlew' campaign which is led by Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Shropshire Ornithological Society. A new group will be set up this year to study the area extending south from Oswestry to Kinnerley, and eastwards from the Welsh border to Ruyton-XI- Towns.

It is one of the few remaining Curlew hotspots in the county and this is where the public can get involved. Local volunteers are being summoned to look for these rare birds in the spring. You don't need to be an expert and the survey only requires three visits.

If you are interested and want to find out more, there will be a launch meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday March 7 at Morda Social Club, where project co-ordinator Leo Smith will give a presentation, followed by refreshments.