Wild-born chick takes to the skies for the first time in two centuries
Conservation experts have successfully flying from a young Chough with red beak, a nest in the city and marked the first event for more than two centuries.
The success of the chick in Dover Castle began to restore species into the region just three years after a reproduction program led by Wildwood Trust, Kent Wildlife Trust and Paradise Park.
Chough with red trunks has strong cultural connections with the city and its history, in the legend of Martyred Thomas Becket, who is said to stain the red beak and legs of Canterbury’s coat of arms and blood.
However, the bird, a member of the Crow family, disappeared from the district more than 200 years ago as a result of loss of habitat and persecution.
In Çayol and Heath, rare birds, which are feeding with short vegetation near the nests of the cliff, are found only on the western eaves of England, on the human island and the island of Ireland.
A re -introductory program aimed at introducing the chicks back and released for five years in the South East for five years, and the first cohort of the released birds takes to the sky in 2022.
The team behind the project said that long -term efforts to restore and manage the chalk pasture habitat, including protection grazing, created feed and reproductive conditions of Choughs.
Chalk grasslands support a wide range of wild flowers and invertebrates with insects and larvae found from animals grazing during the reproductive season.
Conservative experts say that a wild -born Chough is an important moment for a new person’s return to the district.
Last year, it follows a reproductive attempt that ended when it was lost in severe weather, but this year seems to be young.
Wildwood Trust’s Chough broadcast supervisor Liz Corry said: “This is a moment we all hoped.
“Seeing a wild chick is not only the cover, but also to take it to the sky and the sky.
“It confirms that birds find the appropriate nesting habitat and match to raise young people – exactly what we are working on.”
“This project shows what is possible when the long -term habitat restoration meets the healing of ambitious species.
“A developing Chough population in the city not only revives a lost species, but also proves the value of recovering rare habitats, such as chalk pastures that are vital for a wide variety of wildlife.”
