A Conversation for The Great Bustard

Glad to see a plan!

Post 1

Scandrea

I'm happy to see that there's a plan out there for reintroducing Great Bustards to Great Britain.


Glad to see a plan!

Post 2

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

Pity there isn't a picture to accompany this Entry.

smiley - biggrin


Glad to see a plan!

Post 3

Scandrea

I imagine they look a bit like turkeys.


Glad to see a plan!

Post 4

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

My point is that on a recent EG Entry on blackbirds, (with which we are all familiar) the Editors saw fit to include a picture (albeit of a female one, which has received some criticism). So one would think that there would be even more justification for including a picture of a bustard, with which very few people are familiar.
smiley - biggrin


Glad to see a plan!

Post 5

Watermusic

Both the Great Bustard site and the BBC news article have photographs of them.
They are bigger than a turkey, with grey/blue plumage on the head and neck, and whiskers!
Last I heard, 20 chicks were in Wiltshire and started on their acclimatisation programme (August) - there were a few notes about this on the last postings of the peer review thread.
smiley - biggrin


Glad to see a plan!

Post 6

Watermusic

Aside* I saw an article just a few days ago, written in the 1950s - which stated then that they were trying to get the reintroduction going, so all in all it seems to really have taken 50 years!


Glad to see a plan!

Post 7

flyingtwinkle

glad to know there are heavy weight flying birds


Glad to see a plan!

Post 8

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

Ref your post 6 WM, I have a friend who was involved with the earlier(unsuccessful) attempts to reintroduce the Great Bustard. They did work extremely hard at it and are therefore somewhat sceptical of the success of the most recent attempt.

<biggrin)


Glad to see a plan!

Post 9

Watermusic

Did they get very far?

I hope they make the birds wary of foxes now they have banned hunting - but although they are ground dwellers they can fly, ! Our Peacock flew out of danger, but then he roosts up high.


Glad to see a plan!

Post 10

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

Regret I don't know.I wasn't directly involved in it, as I say, without ultimate success. I know they spent some years at it. I'll try to find out.I think the on-line Salisbury News mentions that they're training the bustard to beware of predators such as foxes. However, presence or absence of fox-hunting would make little difference there because it is a military training ground and the hunt aren't allowed through.smiley - biggrin

I don't think the fox-hunting lobby made themselves any friends by storming the House of Commons smiley - cross. If I was pro-fox-hunting before, I would probably be against it by now, One just camnnot have morons like that undermining democratic rights and processes .


Glad to see a plan!

Post 11

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

Hi WM, there are 3 articles in this week's Salisbury Journal, if you'd like to visit 'Salisbury online'. One of them is a letter, recalling the author's recollection that the Great Bustard was re-introduced to Salisbury Plain in the 1970's.

His recollection is from a Giles cartton of the time which had two crows looking on at the new arrivals and saying, "I would consider myself a very silly great bustard making a comeback looking that much like a turkey this side of Christmas"

smiley - biggrin.


Glad to see a plan!

Post 12

Watermusic

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2004/09/02/devizes_news_county30ZM.html


Glad to see a plan!

Post 13

BigAl Patron Saint of Left Handers Keeper of the Glowing Pickle and Monobrows

Also:

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/salisbury/news/SALIS_NEWS6.html

smiley - biggrin


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