Slimbridge Wetland Centre has this week announced the birth of 14 bumblebee-sized spoon-billed sandpiper chicks – a first for the UK and only the second flock ever to have been hatched in captivity.
The spoon-billed sandpiper, which breeds on the sub-Arctic tundra in the Russian far east, is a critically endangered species with fewer than 100 pairs thought to remain worldwide.
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge instigated an emergency conservation breeding mission in a bid to save the species against imminent extinction in the wild, which involved wild eggs being flown over in a week-long journey from their homeland Russia.
Nigel Jarrett, head of conservation breeding, said: ‘The spoon-billed sandpiper is a beautiful and unique bird, but whatever it looked like we couldn’t stand by while it went extinct.
‘We hatched the first of our conservation breeding flock on the tundra last year and brought them back when fully grown. With all we learned then, it made sense to transport them as eggs this year and the huge privilege for the UK is to have these amazing little chicks hatch here for the first time.’
The long-term decline of the spoon-billed sandpiper was thought to have been driven by habitat loss in east Asia, however the root of the problem has since been identified in coastal Myanmar and Bangladesh, where the birds spend the majority of their time outside of the breeding season – with some villagers taking to bird-trapping to survive.
Visitors to Slimbridge Wetland Centre this summer can hope to catch a glimpse of the tiny, rare chicks, not to mention the whole host of other birds that call the WWT headquarters home, including all six species of flamingos and the rarest geese in the world, the nenes.
For more information about the spoon-billed sandpiper chicks contact Slimbridge Wetland Centre on (01453) 891900 or visit wwt.org.uk/slimbridge directly.
© SoGlos
Thursday 12 July 2012
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