Bustards | | Rare sighting - the Great Bustard is making a comeback |
Dave Waters is on a quest. In fact, you might say hes a man obsessed. He dreams of watching a rather special bird fly over Salisbury Plain a bird that died out in this country over 170 years ago. The Great Bustard is the heaviest flying bird in the world and became extinct in Britain in 1832. Although changes in farming played a major part, ironically it was the bird watchers of the day who finished the UK population off, If you were a twitcher then, you had to produce the carcass to prove you had actually seen the bird. Sadly the last British Great Bustards were only viewed down the barrel of a gun. But Dave, from Wiltshire, has made it his aim in life to bring the Bustard back.
Hes given up his job as a policeman, sold his beloved motorbike collection, forgone holidays - all in attempt to try to establish a self-sustaining Great Bustard population back on the plains.
Dave feels that they are a missing piece of our wildlife heritage. Theyre especially important to Wiltshire, featuring on the county crest and local place names, so its fitting that they return here first. Spectacular birds
In fact, its been Daves dream to see Bustards back here since he was a young lad. | GREAT BUSTARD | The Great Bustard is the largest flying bird in the world - some males weigh over 20 kilograms.
Males usually have to be five years of age before they are able to breed.
Males gather in groups called 'leks' to attract females.
The bird's diet is seasonal and quite opportunistic. They eat insects such as grasshoppers in the summer and cereal seeds in the winter.
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 led to the bird's decline.
As a prized game bird, heavy persecution led to their extinction by around 1830. At their height, the bird's stronghold was Wiltshire, especially on Salisbury Plain and the extensive chalk downs in the north of the county. The last records of British Great Bustards are recorded in East Anglia. Source: RSPB |
In the 1970s, Dave saw a captive flock from Portugal being reared just up the road at Porton Down. The birds appealed to Daves boyish sense of humour
theres obviously something in a name! Theyre also known for their spectacular mating display - the adult males inflate special throat pouches and twist their feathers, turning from their normal brown colouring to almost totally white. Thirty years on, Daves quest has taken him all the way to Russia, where the Great Bustard still survives on the plains of Saratov. The Russian authorities have allowed Dave to collect eggs that are abandoned by the female birds and would otherwise perish. This is the projects second year and back in the summer, Dave hatched out 37 chicks. Then came the tricky job of transporting the chicks back to Salisbury Plain. After a month in quarantine, the chicks were ready to be released. The birds were released into an open topped pen to give them some initial protection until they were happy to fend for themselves.
Of course, its still early days Dave expects that it will take up to ten years to establish the Great Bustard properly and for us to be rewarded with the wonderful breeding spectacle. But so far so good, and the latest news from Dave is that there is now a big flock of Great Bustards happily flying over Salisbury Plain so keep your eyes peeled!
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Inside Out - West: Monday October 24, 2005
