Ten Red-billed Choughs, which are part of the well-established group at Paradise Park in Cornwall, are being released near Dover. This is part of a project with our partners Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust.
Choughs in the flocking aviary at Paradise Park in Cornwall. Pic Ali Hales
A large aviary is home to the initial cohort of young birds, with the soft release being undertaken by Liz Corry of Wildwood Trust. Liz has been part of the team to re-establish the species on Jersey in The Channel Islands. There is now a population of over forty birds living and breeding in the wild on Jersey.
The species has been absent from Kent for 200 years so this is an exciting time for us at Paradise Park. Director Alison Hales said “It will be wonderful to see these fabulous birds flying over the white cliffs of Dover soon.”
The White Cliffs near Dover – home for choughs. Pic Ali Hales
More young birds bred at Paradise Park will be making the journey from Cornwall to Kent as releases will continue for a minimum of five years. The Red-billed Chough is a sedentary species so returning them to Kent will, in future, help to join up the isolated populations in the UK.
Four chough chicks at Paradise Park, Cornwall, destined to be released in Kent. Pic Ray Hales
We are working to create further partnerships, with the aim of future releases along the South coast of England and help join up the isolated UK populations of this sedentary species.
Many thanks to everyone who has visited Paradise Park and supported our Chough project. Donations welcome here.
This year has been our most successful chough breeding season, thanks to a combination of an increased number of aviaries, and the long hours of constant monitoring. As always, there was a mixture of highs and lows.
The five new purpose-built chough breeding aviaries were finished on time, and the breeding pairs were put in place on Valentine’s Day as planned. This year we had eight pairs of choughs set up in seclusion aviaries, with another pair in our original chough aviary in the main park (first used in 1976). The remaining birds of our flock stayed in the large poyltunnel flight aviaries – where one pair was also successful, and raised a single chick.
Chough chick looking out from its nest box in the polytunnel aviary – Pic Ali Hales
The nest box cameras once again proved invaluable, giving us an insight into the normally unseen inside of a chough’s nest. Red-billed Choughs are well known as being an intelligent member of the crow family, and the vocalisations and behaviours continued to delight viewers.
Some of the behaviour was baffling – a male bird removing chicks as soon as they hatched, or another removing eggs. Other behaviour was quite touching. The clip below shows a female laying an egg, while the male waits patiently at the edge of the nest.
Chough laying an egg in nest box as male waits nearby
Three of the pairs started building nests immediately, and nests were quickly filling up with eggs. At this point, the weather suddenly changed back to winter mode, and the remaining pairs seemed to stall. At the end of March we had the interesting situation of eggs in nests, other nests being built, and some not even started!
The total number of eggs laid this year was forty one – a number we could only have imagined a few years ago. One pair did lay two clutches, which is highly unusual. (However, the male had already thrown out the first four eggs.) This pair eventually laid seven eggs, and produced just one chick.
As the birds had staggered their laying times, we had the benefit of being able to concentrate on any supplementary feeding, chick weighing, health monitoring and nest manipulation.
Chough chicks ready to be weighed while Alison distracts adult birds – Pic R Hales
In mid May Liz Corry & Laura Gardner from the Wildwood Trust came down to take four chicks for the upcoming release in Kent. The four birds were about a week old, and were taken to be creche reared with other chicks, as a large family group. This meant the chicks, while steady around people, would be much less likely to become imprinted on their adopted human parents. It would also make the chicks suitable for very early training for the release later this year.
Four week-old chicks ready to move to Kent – Pic R Hales
The final figures – forty one eggs, twenty two hatched, and twelve fledged. The number of eggs laid has been slightly skewed by the pair which laid seven eggs to produce one chick. Almost all of the eggs when checked were fertile, which is a good indication of the health of our flock – now approaching some fifty birds.
Chough chick learning that food is not always availble from mum & dad – Pic Ali Hales
