‘Welcome surprise’ as wader returns after winter

A BLACK-TAILED godwit released into the wild in the Fens after being hand-reared has returned home from its winter migration, wildlife experts have said.

The bird is one of 26 raised at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Welney in Cambridgeshire, and released into the wild last summer, from where they migrated as far as Portugal for the winter. Their release was part of an effort to increase the small, vulnerable breeding population of black-tailed godwits in the UK.

Conservationists said the sighting was a “wonderful and welcome surprise”, as the birds were not necessarily expected to return home from their wintering grounds this year.

The wading birds were hatched in captivity and hand-reared by wildlife experts from the trust and the RSPB, away from predators and other dangers, in a process known as “headstarting” which aims to improve survival chances and boost numbers.

The male, the first of the group to return to the Fens, has been named Delph after the riverbank where he was sighted.

Louise Clewley of the WWT, who made the discovery, said: “It was right in front of the main observatory for everyone to see.

“Migration is fraught with danger and the successful return of the first of our UK handreared batch gives us hope for the future of these birds,” she added.

Hannah Ward, of the RSPB Project, added: “We weren’t necessarily expecting any of the hand-reared birds to return this summer so this is a wonderful and welcome surprise. We may have to wait until next summer before this young bird breeds but this is great news.”