Great Bustard

Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Its the first day of our study tour and we went over to Salisbury Plain to visit the Great Bustard group The Great Bustard Group - conservation and re-introduction of the Great Bustard. Over the last 20 or so years they have worked to reintroduce the Great Bustard to the UK. They started by collecting eggs from Russia but long story short that didnt work to well so they then started collecting and hatching eggs from Spain. This was all done ethically and legally - without much support from British wildlife charities and our government though. They are now up to 100 birds and no longer need to bring in eggs from elsewhere - they have built a self sustaining population - which is amazing. We did see the birds in the wild but they were a long way away so the best photo is the stuffed example they have in their shop! Very strange birds - as big as turkeys. They have just one employee and run the rest of it through volunteering. It is a great story of what one person and some volunteers with a great deal of perseverance can do for wildlife.