Choughs to be reintroduced to Kent
In the coming weeks Kent Wildlife Trust will release 10 hand-reared Choughs into the Kent countryside at a site near Dover. It will mark the return of the species to the country after an absence of 200 years.
The chicks have been raised at Wildwood Trust near Canterbury, in partnership with the Kent Wildlife Trust.
Paul Hadaway, director of conservation and engagement at the Kent Wildlife Trust, said the reintroduction has been made possible by years of work restoring their habitat, through sympathetic grazing to encourage the return of other plants and insects.
"By working with farmers and landowners we're creating the conditions for these birds to come back," he said, "and by returning them we're using their presence to drive the next decades of that process."
Liz Corry from the Wildwood Trust helped rear the birds. "There's lots of hand-rearing involved, which means lots of sleepless nights," she said, "but it's just so rewarding to know you're returning a species to Kent."
She said: "We're using a black glove and tweezers to mimic the parents' head, we play audio calls back between feeds so they're listening to chough sounds and we're trying to discourage them from landing on us."
25 Jul 2023
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