We thought it is time we shared some footage of the 2012 birds in the wintering aviaries at Slimbridge.
As you can see they are doing really well. This was taken a few weeks ago, when the weather was warm and the birds were in the outside part of the aviary.
We also have some pictures of the two groups of birds.
-
- 2011 spoon-billed sandpipers
-
- 2011 spoon-billed sandpipers
-
- 2012 spoon-billed sandpipers
-
- 2012 spoon-billed sandpipers
Many thanks for the video and photos. It is good to see “our” spoonies looking so healthy and happy.
What a great little video. The birds are moving about and feeding just like wild birds. Such an achievement to get them this far. You keep on adapting and improving their accommodation – it looks great. Saw a couple of excellent presentations by Rob Sheldon on Spoon-billed Sands and the East Asian-Autralasian Flyway at the Oriental Bird Club Winter Meeting/AGM. Lots of positive news on conservation breeding and head-starting. I especially liked the graphic that showed the positive effect on recruitment of reducing hunting + headstarting. As Rob said, work on the stopover sites is less sexy but just as crucial.
Thanks for the update – looking good!