Update from Baz Hughes
I think you might have all realised that there’s been a bit of blog silence on the Slimbridge spoonies so it’s time to update you. Put bluntly, we didn’t get eggs this year, but it wasn’t for lack of trying!
Moult into summer plumage commenced in late February with completion by mid-May: 12 of the 19 birds reached a moult score of 6 or 7 (7 being full summer plumage) with the remaining seven birds attaining moult scores of 4 and 5 as in previous few years. Males began to ‘sing’ towards the end of April. As in 2016, pairs (seven in total) were transferred from the wintering aviary to breeding aviaries in mid-May.
Only one pair showed encouraging signs of imminent breeding activity: the male bird made a total of eight nest scrapes over a two week period when he was either singing, nest scraping or ‘corralling’ his mate more or less day and night until 15 June. Though the female visited her partner’s nest scrapes and showed interest in his behaviour, no copulations were observed and no eggs were laid.
During this period, three other males were recorded as occasionally ‘territorial singing’, with two making nest scrapes. Attempts to instigate/sustain breeding behaviours/activity from these and other pairs, by moving birds between aviaries, proved futile. Moult resumed in the last week of June. Birds were returned to the main wintering aviary in early July.
I feel for the conservation breeding and veterinary teams who have pulled out all the stops to try to get our birds to breed. Their attention to detail is amazing. Over the past year, it’s been like a forensic investigation trying to get the birds’ diet (especially protein and calcium levels) and lighting just right, on the suspicion that calcium metabolism issues were a factor in the death of the chicks last year. We’re extremely grateful to Frances Baines (UV Guide UK) and Amanda Ferguson (ZSL) for their help over the past year with the UV lighting set-up and diet analyses, respectively, and to Philips Lighting for providing additional lighting for bird enclosures.
Unfortunately, a major blow this year was the loss of both of the 2016 breeding males before the breeding season, one through a diet related condition and the other through a freak night fright incident and collision with the aviary netting (which is double-skinned and designed to be as soft as possible). As we have CCTV running on the birds 24/7 we can see when the incident occurred but not what caused it.
So – my apologies for the lack of blogs, but I can assure you we will keep trying!
Keep trying, our wishes are always there.
Thanks Baz, great to have the update. It’ll happen one day! Didn’t it take the Dunlin breeding programme in Germany a few years before ultimate success? Brilliant work, amazing love and care for those gorgeous little birds, well done everyone!
Thanks Baz but how very sad. These coy females are SUCH a nuisance when the boys are working SO hard. Thank you for keeping on trying it would be SO lovely to have a safe colony in captivity in case things go ear shaped on the Flyway, Breeding and Wintering grounds.
Helena
Well done all the team for trying so hard and we all hope next year it may happen.
Regards Peter Soper.
WWT are one strand of the International efforts to save Spoonies. We have to keep supporting these cutting-edge attempts that you are working so hard on.
I think communications are important mobilising support into how desperate their plight is. Keep up the great work
Such a shame but keep on with the plan, it will happen, it’s only natural !!!
Don’t give up! The world will be a poorer place without these fabulous little birds.