Restoring Chough to Kent
The red-billed chough (pronounced ‘chuff’), the rarest member of the British crow family, once called Kent’s coastline home, and could be found throughout the British Isles. Changes to farming practices and persecution have caused a catastrophic decline in the chough population, and there are now only 23 breeding pairs left in England. Wildwood have been breeding chough for several years as part of the National breeding programme coordinated by Paradise Park in Cornwall, and are now working in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust and Paradise Park to return this iconic species to the Kent coastline. Our long term vision is to restore chough across southern England, and Dover is the perfect place to start. Dover's chalk grasslands and White Cliffs provide nest sites and a rich diversity of insects on which choughs feed. As suitable coastal habitat and grazing practices are being restored, and persecution is no longer a threat, now is the perfect time to return the chough to the skies of Kent. This new Kent population will be the first in a series of planned chough reintroductions along the south coast of England acting as stepping stones to join up remaining isolated and fragmented populations, bringing new genetics into the existing population, making them more sustainable and resilient. In order to produce enough birds for reintroduction, the project has the full support of Paradise Park in Cornwall who have been managing a diverse captive population for many years and techniques including creche rearing have been developed. Wildwood Trust plans to hatch and rear chough chicks, which will then be released into the wild to settle and breed. There will be subsequent releases each year to bolster the population until our target population size is reached. We're confident that the chough will develop a healthy, self-sustaining population in this area, but to begin with, this fledgling group will need our special care. £25 could feed a baby chough for one month £60 could provide food and veterinary supplies for a chough for one month £110 could purchase and install a chough nesting box £250 could contribute towards the construction of the release aviary £1000 could purchase a GPS tracker to help us monitor the chough after release If you would like to do even more to help support the restoration of the chough in Kent, another fantastic way you can help is to set up your own fundraiser. You can take part in an existing event or create your own. For fundraising inspiration, please check out some great ideas on our website. You can set up your own fundraising page on JustGiving, simply choosing Wildwood Trust as your charity. Make sure to share the link to your fundraising page with everyone you know to raise awareness and get as much support as possible. You could even make it a team effort and get friends and family fundraising with you! We love to hear your success stories and see photos of your fundraising activities. We also want to give you all the support you need, so please let us know if you are holding a fundraiser. If you have any questions or need any help at all, please don't hesitate to email us or call 01227 711900. Wildwood chough adoptions are the perfect gift for anyone who loves birds. Each adoption helps support our work to see this iconic species returned to Kent. Your adoption package will include a mounted photo, a personalised plaque at the chough enclosure, a personalised certificate, a fact sheet and even more depending on which level of adoption you choose. Click here to adopt a red-billed chough at Wildwood in Kent. We promise to spend any money raised in this appeal on getting chough back into wild. Your donation will help cover the wide range of costs to enable this historic reintroduction to happen. Once we meet our target, donations will no longer be matched, and any additional donations will still support the restoration of the chough in Kent and will help us to make it a success. We really couldn't do what we do without your support and we can't thank you enough!
Can you help us bring back our long-lost red-billed chough?
The story of the chough has long been interwoven into the culture of Kent. Chough are even featured on the coat of arms for the city of Canterbury. Yet these iconic birds have been missing from the county for the last two centuries.
With animal and plant extinctions taking place across the world, we must act now to restore vital habitats and return lost species before it's too late. The chough is the rarest British member of the crow family and is a protected species, but the chough story is far from over, and there is the chance of a new beginning.With YOUR HELP, we could see this charismatic bird flying over the White Cliffs of Dover for the first time in over 200 years!
Why Dover? Why now?
How you can help us restore the chough to Kent
We plan to start releasing chough in Dover at the end of summer 2022, although these birds will be prepared, as much as possible for life in the wild, we will closely monitor them after release to ensure their welfare and track their progress. We will be able to see where they have settled and monitor the success of their foraging and nesting.You can help us to make this happen by donating today!
Photo credit: Paradise Park, CornwallStart fundraising
Becoming a fundraiser means that you will not only help to raise vital funds for this project, but you will you help to spread the word and raise awareness too. Whatever you decided to do, you can have a lot of fun and get a real sense of achievement by doing something that will make a huge difference towards restoring the chough in Kent.
Adopt a chough
Our Pledge to You
Contact details
| Key Contact | : | Sarah Anstee |
| : | appeals@wildwoodtrust.org | |
| Telephone | : | 01227711900 |
Supporters
In memory of our loving GreatGrandmother who passed away on 1st January 2021 xx This donation is for her Xx
Another very worthy cause - Good Luck and keep up your great work, Wildwood
Good luck, I'm choughed to be supporting you.
Happy to help - Good luck in making the target,
Good luck with this fabulous project
Thank you to everyone at Wildwood and the Kent Wildlife Trust for doing all of their fantastic work with the breeding programme which will allow us to keep these gorgeous red-billed choughs. Thank you! ????
Good luck!
Best of luck with this project and keep up the good work rewilding!
It will be awesome seeing the Chuff flying over the Kent skies.
Keep up the good work
A fantastic project look forward to seeing these beautiful birds where they belong
Sorry not loads, I shall try to add more over the next couple of months. Not earning loads at present and trying to support as many charities as possible.
What an amazing project! Can’t wait to be able to see a colony of wild choughs at Dover. Thank you to everyone involved and special thanks to the staff at Dover Castle looking after the 4 young birds in the aviary.
Good luck
Congratulations on this good work. Thank you Wildwood.
We love all corvids! Come back Choughs, we want to see you in Kent!!
Good luck with your appeal.
I'm chuffed to be able to help you with this appeal!
Best of luck
Here’s to success in re-introducing the chough to Kent!
So glad to support Wildwood in restoring the Chough to Kent
Hope you reach the target.
A fantastic project, so incredibly important and worthwhile. I look forward to seeing red beaks and legs over the White Cliffs in the years to come.
Keep up the good work
Wishing the Chough project every success!
It would be lovely to see these birds back in suitable habitat in Kent.
GOOD LUCK WELL DONE
Good luck and keep up the good work 🙂
To everyone in the Wildwood team. Keep up, all the great conservation work you are doing.
I look forward to seeing choughs in Kent
A very worthy cause pleased to help
Good luck with the fundraising. What gorgeous birds.
Only too happy to support this initiative!
We need to retain indigenous species and support biodiversity.
Choughly chough please come back xxxxx
NO ACKOWLEDGMENT REQUIRED
Good luck with this project, it would be amazing to have chough back on our coastline.
Supporting wildlife
Good luck with this project!
My 2nd donation - and I hope it helps… (sorry it’s not much - my Disability benefit doesn’t go very far)
Good luck!
Pleased to help bring back these beautiful birds
I wish you well in reaching your target.
Keep up your excellent work
Fingers crossed you make your target.
Good work!
Keep up the good work.
Good luck, fantastic initiative
Good luck with the appeal! And a Merry Christmas to all the hard working and dedicated staff & volunteers at Wildwood.
Keep up this excellent work for a wonderful bird - choughing marvellous!
What a fantastic project, wishing you every success and hoping you get lots of support.
Thank you for doing such wonderful work x
Thsank you for all the wonderfulwork you do.
Good luck with this, and thank you for all your work in Kent and Devon.
Love to watch the Choughs in Cornwall. and would be lovely to see them nearer to home. Good luck with the project
Good luck with your campaign to re-introduce the chough to its historic home in our county
I look forward to seeing Choughs one day when walking on the White Cliffs
Worzel Gummidge says ‘Save the chough’.!
Good Luck Guys with this all your other amazing projects to save our native wildlife - Wish I could give you more but feel better knowing it will be doubled
Good luck in reaching your total and well done for all your campaigning
Good luck with your venture Felix, age 5
Good luck with your venture
Thank you for all the work you do for the British native wildlife and environment
Many thanks to the Tilmanstone Animal Gang for all of their hard work in raising money to help the chough as they long to see them flying again.
My birthday was just before Christmas and this is some of my birthday money. Good luck with all you do.
This sound like a fantastic project and I look forward to reading about it's outcome.
Keep up the excellent work
Would love to see this iconic species back on the Kent coastline, stunning birds.
With best wishes to all at Wildwood: Happy New Year!
Hope you reach your target.
Keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing choughs in the wild as soon as.
For all your excellent work
Good luck Wildwood, you do wonderful work!
It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Wildwood over Christmas, and I’m so pleased that there is an opportunity to get the money raised doubled for the animals and the Trust. I hope that it goes towards something really beneficial for you all ????
Hope that you reach your target!
It would be wonderful to see these enigmatic birds reintroduced to the south east of England
A very worthy cause. Good luck!
Hope you reach your target.
Thank you for all you do for animals. I love visiting and seeing your animals happy and in their natural environment.
Good luck with this and pray you are successful. You do amazing work, thank you.
You do such a wonderful job!!
We loved seeing these lovely birds on our visit. Spookily, we'd seen them featured on a Worzel Gummidge episode just a few days earlier and wondered what they were..
Good luck on reaching your target
Hope the choughs get off the ground. Much more realistic project than Bison!
Good luck
We sincerely hope that enough can be raised in these difficult times to return this beautiful bird to our countryside.
Hoping to see these beautiful birds re-established in Kent.
Good Luck!
Happy to help ito bringing back the choughs .
Good luck with this appeal. But the amount shown on your email appears to be wrong: it shows £13 383.41 has been collected but that this is only 22% of £60,000. How does that work?
The "wobbly" multi-sized font you have used for numbers makes them harder to read accurately. Also, it is hard to see which of your bullet points has been selected as the words just go slightly bolder. Please remember donors with poor eyesight!
Wildwood I so very much hope your total will be matched by the fabulous secret donator! Sorry it couldn't be more and so late minutes.
Me back again, 2nd donation from the joint account! So the other half is paying!
Would be wonderful to see choughs !
Good luck with your campaign!
A great cause .
Wonderful birds and great to think that they may soon be found in Kent. Good luck with your appeal.
Good luck with this project
Thanks for the meet the Chough Day, and good luck with the reintroduction.
Good to see the great work with the choughs and bisons , thanks Pauline
Went to see the choughs yesterday and am so impressed by the project I am making a further donation. Thank you to Sarah who’s enthusiasm and knowledge really brought the project to life.
Great work, happy to support a great cause!
Thank you for all the wonderful conservation work you do.
Good luck, you're doing a grand job!