Working for nature
Great bustard reintroduction, Salisbury Plain
Fred and Rona Andrews are helping raise and release great bustards
We use a feeding puppet to imitate the behaviour of a parent.
All over the world, devoted individuals are doing their bit by volunteering to get involved with wildlife. Jo Price meets a couple bringing bustards back to Britain after an absence of over 100 years.
The last known eggs of the great bustard were taken by ornithologists in 1832, and the bird was extinct by the end of the 19th century, a victim of overzealous trophy hunters. In 2004, the Vulnerable species was re-introduced to Salisbury Plain, with the aim of establishing a self-sustaining population on the chalk plateau.
Great Bustard Group, the charity behind the releases, was set up in 1997 and it has now been 15 years since the initial 10-year trial began. Natural England has re-issued licenses on an almost annual basis ever since.
Long-term volunteers Fred and Rona Andrews have been involved from the start and, working as part of a team, have helped rear over 200 chicks from eggs sourced abroad.
“For the first week the chick needs to have food placed in its bill, so we use a feeding puppet to imitate the behaviour of the parent and a dehumanisation suit to stop the birds imprinting,” explains Fred. “It is quite hard when the bustards are young because they need feeding every hour and it takes a long time to feed one.”
Great bustards reach maturity at about five years old: “Seeing the first wild bred chick out on Salisbury Plain in 2009, shortly after it hatched, was a proud
moment for me,” says Rona. On average, 12 chicks are released each year on to Salisbury Plain and in 2018 the survival rate was 100 per cent.
“The aim has been to reach a population of 100 birds,” says GBG executive officer David Waters. “Now we have that number, we will allow the population to continue to grow by natural reproduction.”
In May, Fred and Rona were invited to Buckingham Palace to represent the charity when it was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. “Being involved with the heaviest flying bird in the world has given us both a greater knowledge of birds, conservation and farming,” states Rona. “We are contributing to an important conservation project that also benefits other species.” “There is a great deal of interest in restoring great bustard populations to other areas, and in Norfolk in particular,” says David. “For the present we will continue to protect and nurture the Wiltshire population. We have set up a captive breeding project, which may, one day, be able to provide stock for other releases.” FIND OUT MORE Read about the Great Bustard Group at greatbustard.org