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

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

Now we’ve finished preparing the facility for the long awaited breeding season, we can keep a close eye on the birds for signs of breeding activity… The first clear indications that the birds are coming into breeding condition is the dropping of their winter feathers. You typically st

Its that time of year again… The Team are geared up for what looks to be a promising season with the captive Spoon-billed Sandpipers here at WWT Slimbridge. Building on our knowledge and experience with every year, we have entered spring with an open mind and some new ideas. Pro

From elation to devastation. Over the last few days, the two viable eggs at Slimbridge successfully hatched producing two perfect looking Spoon-billed Sandpiper chicks. The chicks seemed to do well initially but their health deteriorated and within 60 hours of hatching both chicks die

The team met with the schoolkids today. Sayam showed some funny shots of children playing in Bangladesh, as well as short video clips of mangrove delta Spoon-billed Sandpiper habitat, and bare feet walking on a sucky mudflat. This last clip raised giggles from these tundra-raised kids