Salisbury Plain is a vast military training ground that was established in 1897 when the War Department started to buy up land. After five years, the WD had purchased over forty three thousand acres and today, it is a place where conventional weapons are tested, tanks roam and troops train.
Salisbury Plain is also a massive wildlife sanctuary with many protected species of flowers and wildlife living in close harmony with explosions and disruption.
The plain extends from Uphavon in the North to Larkhill in the South and Perham Down in the East to Wamminster in the West (ten miles by twenty five miles totally).
The total coverage is now over ninety four thousand acres (or thirty eight thousand hectares in new money) with twenty five thousand acres being permanently restricted from public access.
The Great Bustard - Otis tarda - was once a thriving bird in the UK but was hunted out of existence and is now on the IUCN Red List of Globally Threatened Species.
There ere thought to be only thirty five thousand birds in the entire world with one stable colony of 8,000 birds (called Drofa in Russian) occupying the natural Steppe grassland near Saratov in Trans-Volga region of southern Russia.
In 1998, the Great Bustard Group was formed with the intention of re-introducing the Great Bustard back into the United Kingdom. A EU legislative habitats Directive (1992) means that the UK government is obliged to cosider the re-introduction of any species where it is considered feasible.
The GBG duly commissioned a feasibility study which took several years to deliver (2003) but, after it was demonstrated that the UK could offer suitable habitat, DEFRA issued a ten year license to introduce the Great Bustard back into the UK.
GBG has ongoing partnership with the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Russia and it is with their involvement that eggs were hatch with the young birds being sent to the UK.
Releases started in 2003 and are due to continue until 2013. Birds are released into a seven hectare release pen and literally fly over the fence when they are ready to do so.
The great news is, birds that have previously been released have bred naturally on Salisbury Plain, and young three chicks and are now being closely monitored and it is hoped that more young birds will be discovered in the next few days.
David Waters, founder and Director of the Great Bustard Group, said: “This is a tremendous step forward for the Great Bustard Reintroduction Project, the wildlife of the UK, Great Bustards and for me. It has been a hard struggle to get this far.
"I am exhausted and nearly broke, but to see Great Bustards breeding after an absence of 177 years is brilliant”.
For pictures of the chicks a short videos - click here.
Full GBG press release.
Birdworld (previously one of my customers) near Farnham Surrey will be hosting a talk by the Great Bustard Group on 15th July 2009 - starts 7pm.
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