Return of the Bustard

12:01am Monday 23rd July 2007

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Members of the Great Bustard Group, the conservation group attempting to reintroduce the world's heaviest flying bird to England, have been keeping a secret for the last two months.

Their project received a huge fillip earlier in the summer when it was found that a female Bustard had nested and laid two eggs.

Because of fears of predation by egg collectors, the location of the nest is being kept secret, but the group has now felt able to make the landmark event public.

Dave Waters, the former Wiltshire policeman who founded the group with his wife Karen, said: "This event is enormously exciting and is a huge milestone in the quest to return this magnificent bird to Britain.

"It had been thought 2008 would be the first year that nesting activity would be seen and it is a tremendous boost to have this happening earlier."

But before you hop in a car and drive to Salisbury Plain in the hope of seeing tiny Bustard chicks running about, the eggs were infertile.

Although male birds were seen displaying to females this spring, one of the most remarkable sights in the animal world, it is understood males have to be five years old before they can breed.

The first chicks were brought over from the Russian Steppes in 2003, hatched from eggs found in abandoned nests, so it will be next year at the earliest before they are ready to mate.

But the very fact that a nest was made and eggs laid is excellent news for the group.

Mr Waters said: "Significantly, only birds in good condition produce eggs. Hungry or stressed wild birds do not produce eggs, so this is a strong indication of the success of the project."

Mr Waters will shortly be going to Russia to oversee the dispatching of another batch of young Bustards from Russia to England.

The project has been plagued by bureaucracy at every turn, both in Britain and in Russia, and last year's Bird Flu scare all but scuppered plans to bring over more chicks for eventual release.

But this has been a tremendously encouraging year for the Great Bustard Project. The birds are released at a site on Salisbury Plain near Pewsey and each autumn and winter move away from the home site, some flying as far as southern France, returning during the spring.

Mr Waters said: "This year more than even have made the return journey, including two males which had not been seen anywhere for over 18 months."

He added: "These first steps towards achieving a breeding population of wild Great Bustards in the UK are a confirmation of the success of the GBG's methods of release."