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picture courtesy of BBC |
I am sure many of
you have seen items on television
and the national press explaining
the initial success of the scheme.
Small parties of 6-8 visitors can be
taken to see these magnificent
birds. As the birds are roaming on
areas of military training ground
where live firing occurs, visits
have to be carefully controlled.
Visits are arranged during the
winter months, mainly because the
grass and other vegetation grow too
high and the birds are lost to view
at other times. |
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A charge of £7.00
per person is made to cover the
transport around Salisbury Plain to
see the birds and to assist in
funding the project.
If anyone is interested in joining a
party please contact Alan Hold on
alan.hold@btinternet.com or on
02380 694309, stating your
preference, if any, for a midweek or
weekend visit. Dates and further
details will be arranged when
sufficient interest warrants visits. |
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EXTRACT FROM THE RSPB
The Great Bustard Group (GBG) is
attempting to reintroduce great
bustards to Salisbury Plain,
Wiltshire. In 2004, 27 young great
bustards arrived from Saratov in
Russia and were released at a
prepared site on Salisbury Plain,
followed by a further 32 in 2005.
The aim of the trial reintroduction
project is to create a sustainable
population of great bustards on
Salisbury Plain over the next 10
years.
The RSPB was consulted during the
development of the project, and sits
on a consultative committee that
advises on implementation of the
project. We are working with the GBG,
farmers and landowners in the area,
to ensure that Salisbury Plain
becomes an even richer place for
birds.
Salisbury Plain already has
important numbers of stone-curlew,
which has benefited from successful
protection and increased habitat
provided by the RSPB/English Nature
Wessex Stone-curlew Species Recovery
Project, working with the Ministry
of Defence.
Background
Until the end of the 18th century,
great bustards were widely
distributed in England on open chalk
downland, grassy heaths and
agricultural land. The
intensification of agriculture
caused numbers to decline and,
because they were a prized game
bird, heavy persecution led to their
extinction by around 1840.
Their stronghold was in Wiltshire,
especially Salisbury Plain and the
extensive chalk downs in the north
of the county, but the last records
were from East Anglia.
At present, the only area of the
country that seems to offer enough
suitable habitat to support a
breeding population of great
bustards is Salisbury Plain, which
has been saved from the plough by
the army who use it for
training. The proximity of rich
grasslands to adjacent crops offers
the birds the mix of habitats they
favour across their European range. |