Chough blog
We have an exciting glimpse of the first clutch of red-billed chough eggs from this year’s breeding season
2024 highlight
The highlight in 2024 was the nesting of a pair of chough released in 2023 and bred at Wildwood in 2022.
The pair surprised us all by not only finding a great place to nest but successfully hatching a chick which survived to fledging age.
Although the chick disappeared, this is a huge achievement for a young pair of birds in the year after their release.
November 2024
Another successful year for chough rearing and releases. Our in-house expert staff successfully trialled the artificial incubation of eggs and rearing of chicks from hatch ensuring high rates of chick survival.
Two chough releases took place in 2024 at the same release site in Kent – the first was a cohort of crèche-reared birds using the same techniques developed previously and in Jersey. A second release took place later in the year with slightly older, parent-reared birds who were socialised with the crèche reared birds in the release aviary before release.
There are now 16 red-billed chough flying free in the Dover area. The chough is an intelligent and social species. The birds from 2024 are learning from the birds released in 2023 and exploring local areas including Dover Castle to find resources including food and nesting and roosting sites.
During this phase of the project the release aviary offers supplemental food and safe roosting sites for the birds whilst they learn where the best resources are in the wild.
May 2024
The breeding pair are part of a ground-breaking project between award-winning conservation collaborators Wildwood Trust, Kent Wildlife Trust and Paradise Park, which aims to return the red-billed chough to Kent after a 200-year absence.
The latest clutch of eggs follows the successful breeding and release of chough in the county last year. The eight birds currently flying free over Dover are the first in a series of annual releases to establish a breeding population of chough in Kent.
The exclusive video, captured on a nest cam at Wildwood Trust in Kent, just outside Canterbury, shows five eggs in a nest, under the watchful eye of parents Cordelia and Clive.
Laura Gardner, Wildwood’s Director of Conservation, hopes they’ll be able to replicate the success of the first release when the new chicks are ready to spread their wings:
“This is another hugely important milestone for the project. We’re expecting the eggs to hatch in the coming weeks and then the hard work really begins.
From the first eggs being laid, to the hatching, rearing and fledging it’s going to be a very busy and exciting few months for the birds and the dedicated teams at Wildwood.
The eight birds from last year’s successful release are flying free and thriving and our hope is to see these fantastic birds nest-building and breeding successfully next year.”
March 2024
The chough pairs began nest-building in March this year. Nest building typically involves using large twigs and gradually working in smaller ones, then heather and moss and a lining of horse hair and sheep wool to complete the work.
The project plan is to release between 30 and 50 chough over five years to help towards the widespread recovery of the birds and their habitat in England.
2023
First successful release.
“The chough reintroduction has been made possible through decades of chalk grassland restoration by Kent Wildlife Trust, the National Trust and the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership and supported by Kent Downs AONB with our Dover Downlands Project. With their combined efforts, and the expertise of Wildwood Trust, the release of the first cohort of birds has been a success.
We now turn our attention to building on these efforts and the first clutch of eggs is a key moment for the project team and our supporters. The continued efforts of the conservation charities involved in the reintroduction will hopefully result in this flagship species becoming a common sight in Kent once more.” Paul Hadaway, Director of Conservation for Kent Wildlife Trust.
Hand-rearing the Red-billed Chough chicks at Wildwood Trust!
With feeds every two hours, hand-rearing these little chicks takes incredible dedication, planning and patience!
Nationally this 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.
These reintroductions will increase the numbers of chough in the British Isles as well as establishing new populations that will facilitate the movement of birds between colonies, making them more sustainable and resilient.
