An update from Nigel Jarrett and team It’s been awhile since the last update on the spoon-billed sandpiper population at WWT Slimbridge not least because 2020 was a year of ups and downs, and another when we learned more about the ex situ management of this special species. We went in

Before I tell you about the the progress of the 2021 season for the captive spoonie population at in the UK and the headstarting team in Russia, I want to transport you back 10 years where these ambitious projects were started and concieved, respectively. Below you will find an articl

Once again this year we are experiencing a super-hot summer! Seeing as the Slimbridge Spoonies can’t migrate to the wetlands of China like their wild counterparts, we have to bring the wetlands to them. Current temperatures in the United Kingdom actually match well to where they would

A bite-sized update 😉 Spoonie ‘Pink Dark Green’ was so distracted by the fruit flies he didn’t even notice he was being filmed until the very last moment! During the breeding season we increase the amount of live insects fed to the captive Spoonies to replicate the massive hatch off o

An update from Tanya Grigg We thought you would like to hear how the 2019-hatched Spoonies are getting on as we celebrate their first birthday today! On 20th March this year we moved the birds from their wintering aviary to their summer accommodation which is exactly the same as the a

This year the majority of the captive Spoonies will be eight years old. Being generation zero of the captive population (the first Spoon-billed Sandpipers to be brought into captivity) you could consider this quite an achievement, for the birds and for the staff caring for them. Over

Update from Jodie Clements After what felt like an eternity, the eggs had finally been incubated long enough to see whether or not they were fertile… we had some concerns over fertility as no obviously successful copulations had been witnessed. You may be thinking, well this is a priv

We are pleased to announce that the first eggs of the season have been laid! As you may remember from the previous update, male Pink Dark Green and his female Pink Red Right have been tending diligently to their nest scrape. He has lined it beautifully with thatch, creating a kind of

It wasn’t long after the Spoonies undertook their ‘migration’ to the breeding aviaries before we saw active breeding behaviours! Similarly to the wild Spoon-billed Sandpipers in Meinypil’gyno, the captive birds wasted no time in getting down to business. Some of the Spoonies, bo

The Spoonies have been giving all the right signs and signals that they are ready to pair up and move into their breeding aviaries! Every morning, in recent weeks, the team have been greeted by a chorus of singing Spoonies. Many are reaching full breeding plumage and concentrating on