Expert Elicitation: Lost Birds
Questions Recap
This session presents the way questions were worded on the original questionnaire, just as a refresher.
Feasibility
Please assess the feasibility of conservation action for this species using the likelihood categories below. Assume that all actions have access to the best possible resources available. Please assess the likelihood of success at each of the following steps:
Source availability: Suitable donor populations exist, either in the wild or in managed collections, and individuals are successfully sourced for direct release or to found a captive breeding programme.
Wild-to-wild translocation: Releasing individuals from donor populations into the wild would result in an established population.
Ex situ programme establishment: An ex situ breeding programme would produce sufficient individuals to make a release programme feasible.
Captive-to-wild translocation: Releasing individuals bred in the ex situ programme into the wild would result in an established population.
Please allocate 100 points across the likelihood categories below to reflect your belief about where the true likelihood of success for each step falls. The points should sum to 100 for each step.
Very unlikely: Success at this step is highly improbable (0–20%)
Unlikely: Success at this step is more unlikely than likely to occur (20–40%)
Equal odds: This step is about as likely to succeed as it is to fail (40–60%)
Likely: Success at this step is more likely than unlikely to occur (60–80%)
Very likely: Success at this step is highly probable (80–100%)
Finally, please indicate your overall confidence in your
judgement for each step. Score your confidence on a scale from
0 to 100, where:
100 = total confidence that your assessment is
correct,
50 = you believe your assessment is as likely to be
correct as incorrect, and
0 = you completely believe your
assessment to be wrong.
Your confidence score should reflect how
reliable you believe your assessment is, given available evidence and
your own expertise.
Cost
Please assess the cost of conservation actions for this species using
the price brackets below. Assume that all actions have are
implemented using the best possible resources available. Each
conservation action is listed in a separate tab. Please assess the
likely cost associated with each of the following steps:
Wild-to-wild translocation: Costs associated with
capturing, transporting, releasing, and monitoring individuals moved
directly from donor populations into the wild.
Ex situ
programme establishment: Costs associated with establishing and
operating an ex situ breeding programme, including infrastructure,
staffing, husbandry, veterinary care, and production of individuals
suitable for release.
Captive-to-wild
translocation: Costs associated with releasing individuals bred
in the ex situ programme into the wild, including transport, release
operations, post-release monitoring, and management.
Please allocate 100 points across the price brackets
below to reflect your belief about where the true cost for each
step is most likely to fall.
Finally, please indicate your
overall confidence in your judgement for each step. Score your
confidence on a scale from 0 to 100, where:
100 = total confidence
that your assessment is correct,
50 = you believe your assessment
is as likely to be correct as incorrect, and
0 = you completely
believe your assessment to be wrong.
Your confidence score should
reflect how reliable you believe your assessment is, given available
evidence and your own expertise.
All responses are anonymised. Each expert is represented by a unique alias that is consistent throughout the document but cannot be linked back to individual identities. This allows comparison of patterns across experts while preserving confidentiality.
Results per Species
In the individual plots, each coloured set of bars corresponds to one expert. Bars show how that expert allocated 100 points across the predefined categories, representing their belief about where the true value (likelihood or cost) lies. Wider distributions indicate greater uncertainty or disagreement between categories, while concentrated allocations indicate more precise judgements. The color scale represents the confidence each expert reported on their answers, with darker values indicating higher confidence.
Ruff
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: large population maintain in captivity.
Unsure of ability of the captive soured birds to migrate appropriately
after release
BW: Large numbers of ruff are held in captivity,
the max plank institute previously have been a source of birds taken
into captivity for captive breeding programmes. Wild breeding
populations have been studied, these could possibly prove to be a source
of eggs to establish a new breeding programme.
JQ: most wet grassland European populations are
small and declining so would need to source from tundra populations but
unsure if this would be suitable to translocate to UK conditions.
KW: Seemingly a sizeable captive population
across institutions and private collections. Suitability would depend on
genetic fitness etc
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: 256.5k–690k
pairs
TOP 3 countries: Finland (~150,000 pairs), Sweden (~120,000 pairs), Norway (~80,000 pairs*).
- Nos might be breeding birds not breeding pairs, so wise to half these nos.
YQ: Good number in Zoos - birds and husbandry
expertise Anything to learn from Andrew Crean’s project in Norfolk?
Challenges
BH: would need to trail if captive sourced birds
would return as well as wild sourced birds with similar migratory path
instincts
BW: The many birds breeding in captivity haven’t
had strong population management so the level of inbreeding and
provenance is uncertain. So the quality of founding stock from captivity
would be questionable. They are often held in mixed species aviaries and
therefore would prove a disease risk for reintroduction
JQ: Most of population is in Russian arctic so
political challenges
KQ: Similar considerations as per Kentish plover
- known to be possible to extract eggs, but pretty complex situation
QP: Disease from large captive populations -
quarantine etc.
TB: Key Challenges 1. Donor and Recipient Site
Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats
that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for
Ruffs. Selection should consider habitat quality, long-term viability,
and potential for sympatric breeding with other wader species.
Translocation Operations Collection of eggs, transport, and release must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other wader species (e.g., black-tailed godwit projects in England; spoon-billed sandpiper in Russia). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Manage lowland wet grassland to meet the ecological needs of ruffs and associated wader species. Research indicates that waders breeding in sympatry are more productive than those in isolated habitats, so habitat management should encourage multi-species assemblages.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings and/or (expensive) telemetry devices to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival, dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for wetland habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Founder Sourcing Strategy My preference is for founders to be sourced as eggs or fledglings from wild populations in Europe, despite the existence of captive-bred birds in the UK. This approach maximises genetic diversity and avoids potential inbreeding or adaptation to captive conditions.
a/ Wild-to-Wild Translocation: Collect founders over multiple years (e.g., 20+ eggs/fledglings annually for 5+ years).
b/ Captive Population Establishment: A one-off translocation of 30–50 eggs from Europe to establish 15-–20 breeding females in a conservation breeding programme in England.
- Regulatory and Operational Requirements a/ Licensing and Permissions Collection from the Wild: Obtain collection permits from relevant authorities in the country of origin and landowner consent.
b/ Import to England: Secure an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA. Quarantine: Confirm and comply with UK quarantine requirements.
c/ Release in England: Determine if a release licence is required from Natural England and obtain landowner permission for release sites.
Aviculture Infrastructure Establish and maintain appropriate facilities in both the country of origin and England for egg incubation, chick rearing, and adult management.
Staffing Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, veterinarians. England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field staff for post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: head starting and releasing young hand
reared birds would be needed. Adult bird translocation unlikely to
succeed due to being migratory
BW: Eggs from wild population donor sites
transferred, incubated, hatched and reared in UK. Juveniles released at
site close to current breeding population to increase numbers
JQ: most likely succes is to try an establish
population in scottish peatlands, lowland grassland sites are scattered
and all wader species have low productivity and problems sustaining
populations without conservation intervention.
QP: Extensive habitat network development and
protection, predator control / fences, probably wardens
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild populations of ruff in Europe, despite
the existence of captive-bred birds in the UK. This approach maximises
genetic diversity and avoids potential inbreeding or adaptation to
captive conditions. The programme will require a ‘Programme Plan’
defining the number of founders required and the number of individuals
to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England
after, for example, 5+ years of releases.
So for wild-to-wild translocation, egg collection for founders would be over multiple years (e.g., 20+ eggs/fledglings annually for 5+ years), requiring:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Suitable donor populations and recipient habitats with adequate resources to be identified.
Licensing and Permissions a/ Collection from the Wild: Obtain collection permits from relevant authorities in the country of origin and landowner consent. b/ Import to England: Secure an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA. c/ Quarantine: Confirm and comply with UK quarantine requirements. d/ Release in England: Determine if a release licence is required from Natural England and obtain landowner permission for release sites.
Aviculture Infrastructure Establish and maintain appropriate facilities in both the country of origin and England for egg incubation, chick rearing, and for release in England.
Staffing Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, veterinarians. England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field staff for post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BW: Site loyalty of released birds to return,
landscape habitat management
JQ: there are few suitable areas for
establishing and the species is on the edge of range and climate
suitability is declining therefore low chance of creating long term
population.
KQ: Known to be possible to headstart viable
waders Challenges with habitat: this would only work at sites where
predator control is sufficiently high quality to allow productivity, and
this is very challenging in UK may be extra difficulties in establishing
‘critical mass’ for a lekking species
KW: Extinct as a breeding bird in Britain
without the causes being clear, so not sure how a translocation would
remedy this, especially as declines linked to European wide drivers.
QP: Ensure that reinforcements frequency, size
and length are adequate to boost the population in a meaningful way.
Other results from projects e.g. Project Godwit were modest
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: I think this would be really challenging.
Available climate space is questionable and given experience with
breeding waders including BTGs the scale of predation impact is likely
to be a significant driver.
YQ: Migratory, but some birds present all year
round
Cost Comment
BH: Would need to be head started birds.
Translocations of adult birds unlikely to work as migratory. Would need
hand rearing facilities and staff at donner and release sites. Field
staff need to find nests. Importation costs for getting birds to the UK.
Large numbers for birds translocated needed to establish population as
migratory
KQ: expensive habitat management will be needed,
notably predation management. but depends on extent to which this is a
‘new additional’ cost at whatever sites this is done
KW: Suspect this might be quite expensive if not
using captive birds
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£840K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for year 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0 & 1, then 0.3 FTE for year 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.3 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£430K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£410K
YG: I think wild/wild would be prohibitively
expensive and difficult. Captive stock more likely.
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: Sustainable captive population exists and
husbandry needs of the species well known. Can be kept in a colony in
large aviaries. Cold hardy so heated inside area not needed in UK
climate.
BW: Dedicated wader aviary facility with
adaptations for strong captive management. individual aviaries for pairs
and hand rearing facility to enable both parent and hand rearing of
chicks
JQ: waders seem to be ok at being kept in
captivity and there are good numbers already in collections.
TB: Ruff are kept and bred in captivity in the
UK and Europe by both zoological institutions and private aviculturists.
Ruff require close care when being hand-raised - they are precocious as
neonates…. and the temptation to leave them to ‘rear themselves’. This
must be avoided. Ruff are otherwise generally considered easy to
maintain and breed, i.e. when held in large aviaries as group of 3
males: 8 females, productivity can be high.
The programme will require a “Programme Plan” defining the number of founders required and the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases.
Assuming 30-40 Founders
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and England) - Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs (or breeding groups) in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England.
- Field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: maintaining a genetically robust ex-situ
population
BW: Disease risk from donor populations
JQ: the lekking and non paired social system may
be difficult to recreate successfully in captivity
KQ: Known to be feasible, but are there
challenges around ensuring sufficient male genetic representation in 2nd
etc generations of captives (due to lekking behaviour)?
QP: Disease risk. Complex breeding structures -
captive care would need thought out, however there are examples to look
to
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go’ into an ex situ breeding programme will present challenges to
overcome.
Cost Comment
BH: low cost ex-situ facilities needed as can be
kept in colonies so less aviaries needed. Project would be multiple
years of staffing cost would be high
KQ: moderately straightforward aviculture, but
substantial facilities
KW: Cheaper as birds already in captivity and
producing offspring
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£1.08M) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, INCLUDING care of 15–20 pairs (living as groups in 3 aviaries) established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£600K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£480K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: released pens for soft releases of young
birds. Curlew and corncrake projects as models for soft release
protocols
KW: Same issues as live to live - cause of
decline unknown.
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and in England) - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or chicks/ fledglings.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 eggs and hatchlings and/ or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs (note birds likely held as breeding groups e.g. 3M-8F). - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England. - Field workers for nest finding in source country, and post-release monitoring in England.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: Uncertainty of migration ability if working
with a captive sourced population
JQ: problems same as wild to wild, i.e. getting
birds to return, few suitable locations, marginal climate
suitability.
KQ: Same considerations as for wild-to-wild
QP: Ensure that reinforcements frequency, size
and length are adequate to boost the population in a meaningful way.
Other results from projects e.g. Project Godwit were modest. Disease
risk. Climate change mitigation
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
BH: low cost release pens. Staff needed to care
for birds during soft release. Multiple year releases
KQ: expensive habitat management will be needed,
notably predation management. but depends on extent to which this is a
‘new additional’ cost at whatever sites this is done
Assuming that ex situ work is costed separately
KW: Adding cost of disease screening to captive
breeding etc
QP: Depends on extent of habitat management and
predator control
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£224K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, NOT including care of 20–25 pairs (living as groups in 3 aviaries) established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for years 0-5 (6 years). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0, then 0.1 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for years 0-5 (6 years). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£157K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£67K
Aggregated answers
Kentish plover
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: would need to be sourced from wild
population as very few if any available from captive sources
BW: Populations have been studied and nests
monitored in a number of countries
HB: Many donor populations are also
vulnerable
JQ: they are widespread in southern Europe and
north Africa so assume a suitable donor population could be found.
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: ~91,000–126,000
pairs.
TOP 3 countries: Spain (~30,000 pairs), France (~15,000 pairs), Turkey (~12,000 pairs).
YQ: Wild only
Challenges
BH: finding a wild population to source birds
from and cost/logistics of importing birds. Unlikely to source birds
from Western Europe. Spoonbill sandpiper project as model for harvesting
birds
BW: gaining license and support for wild
take
HB: Headstarting locally / at donor site,
combined with wild take for captive breeding programme for
reintroduction elsewhere might mitigate impact of collections.
KQ: easy enough to obtain chicks or eggs from
breeding pops on continent closest pops to UK would be best, but these
tend to be rather small and may not be the most straightforward
permissions and import bureaucracy are challenges
KW: Ensuring most appropriate subspecies is
used, due to decline - reticence by conservation organisations in other
countries to use their populations as donors?
LW: Source population fragmented- careful site
selection needed.
QP: Fragmented distribution and relatively
(compared to other spp) small global pop could make this challenging,
plus if CR in other regions, might be hard to agree to get birds.
Capture could be tricky without causing failed nests?
SN: due to fragmented remnant populations and
genetic uncertainty, finding an appropriate source population will be
challenging
TB: Key Challenges 1. Donor and Recipient Site
Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats
that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for
Kentish plover (KENPL). Selection should consider habitat quality, its
long-term viability/ management and vulnerability to human disturbance,
e.g. beach dog-walkers..
Translocation Operations Collection of eggs, transport, and release must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other wader species (e.g., black-tailed godwit projects in England; spoon-billed sandpiper in Russia). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Manage beaches and beach-like habitat to meet the ecological needs of KENPLs.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings and/or telemetry devices to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival, dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for beach habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Founder Sourcing Strategy My preference is for founders to be sourced as eggs or fledglings from wild populations in Europe, despite the existence of a few (10-20) captive birds in the UK. This approach maximises genetic diversity and avoids potential inbreeding or adaptation to captive conditions.
a/ Wild-to-Wild Translocation: Collect founders over multiple years (e.g., 20+ eggs/fledglings annually for 5+ years).
b/ Captive Population Establishment: A one-off translocation of 30–50 eggs from Europe to establish 15-20 breeding females in a conservation breeding programme in England.
- Regulatory and Operational Requirements a/ Licensing and Permissions Collection from the Wild: Obtain collection permits from relevant authorities in the country of origin and landowner consent.
b/ Import to England: Secure an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA. Quarantine: Confirm and comply with UK quarantine requirements.
c/ Release in England: Determine if a release licence is required from Natural England and obtain landowner permission for release sites.
Aviculture Infrastructure Establish and maintain appropriate facilities in both the country of origin and England for egg incubation, chick rearing, and adult management.
Staffing Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, veterinarians. England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field staff for post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YG: Seems likely that there will be suitable
wild donors, but will depend on conservation status of those.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: would need to be head started chicks. Wild
to wild translocation of adults unlikely to succeed due to being
migratory
BW: Probably taking eggs from donor population
transport to location close to the release site. Incubating, hatching
eggs. Rearing and releasing juveniles to try to establish a population
with practiced headstarting techniques
HB: A headstarting approach might be feasible -
but would need to release a proportion of chicks back into the donor
site.
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild populations in Europe, despite the
existence of (a few 10<20) captive-bred birds in the UK. This
approach maximises genetic diversity and avoids potential inbreeding or
adaptation to captive conditions. The programme will require a
‘Programme Plan’ defining the number of founders required and the number
of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population
in England after, for example, 5+ years of releases.
So for wild-to-wild translocation, egg collection for founders would be over multiple years (e.g., 20+ eggs/fledglings annually for 5+ years), requiring:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Suitable donor populations and recipient habitats with adequate resources to be identified.
Licensing and Permissions a/ Collection from the Wild: Obtain collection permits from relevant authorities in the country of origin and landowner consent. b/ Import to England: Secure an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA. c/ Quarantine: Confirm and comply with UK quarantine requirements. d/ Release in England: Determine if a release licence is required from Natural England and obtain landowner permission for release sites.
Aviculture Infrastructure Establish and maintain appropriate facilities in both the country of origin and England for egg incubation, chick rearing, and for release in England.
Staffing Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, veterinarians. England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field staff for post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YG: Would need to be allied to beach nesting
bird protection programmes and habitat restoration. Most likely
geographic area would be Norfolk.
YQ: Tolerant to human presence and will breed in
disturbed areas, so could be feasible
Challenges
BW: License and support to take eggs from donor
sites Finding enough nests Incubation and transport of eggs Ongoing
management of headstarting process
HB: Many populations conservation dependent and
/ or declining. Need to mitigate impact if permissions to be secured.
Avicultural techniques less challenging compared to other species.
KQ: We know that headstarting type approaches
work for waders, and no reason to think not workable for this species
Habitat suitability/availability more of an unknown, but this is a
generalist species. Protection from disturbance at coastal sites will be
critical, but recent success with this for e.g. little terns and ringed
plovers
KW: Is there any evidence the cause of decline
has been addressed?
LW: Finding suitable release sites where they
can succeed away from human disturbance and future development
QP: Fragmented, disturbed UK coastlines could
make this challenging. But carefully selected restored habitat networks
around SE could work. Unsure how they would compete/interact with
resident plover spp. Close quarter management would be needed of
breeding since they are sensitive/specialist
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: Given experience on Piping Plover and Hooded
Plover and climate space this seems to have good chances. Issue will be
disturbance at recipient sites.
Cost Comment
BH: would need to be head started birds.
Translocations of adult birds unlikely to work as migratory. Would need
hand rearing facilities and staff at donner and release sites. Field
staff need to find nests. Importation costs for getting birds to the UK.
Donner sites likely to be from eastern range so more costly. Large
numbers for birds translocated needed to establish population as
migratory
BW: Wild to wild in this species would likely
still require a lot of captive management for translocation of eggs and
headstarting . The cost would be reflective of length of project. The
annual cost may change over the course of the project.
KQ: relatively simple operation, not much
habitat restoration/creation needed
KW: Includes disease screening
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£731K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for year 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0 & 1, then 0.3 FTE for year 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.3 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£429K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£302K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: similar to projects with other shorebirds
e.g. New Zealand shore plover. Would need to keep pairs separate. Other
small plover species have been kept successfully such as ringed plover
and killdeer.
BW: A large aviary designed for waders with
suitable pools, soft sand etc. potential to divide when pair bonds have
formed. Additional breeding aviaries for selected pairings could also be
established. Eggs artificially incubated and chicks hand reared
separately from the ex- situ breeding population for release
HB: Similar to other wader breeding projects -
Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit (less involved than spoon-billed
sandpiper).
LW: See Spoon billed sandpiper- breeding in
captivity of waders has been trialled before successfully. Creation of
suitable breeding habitat within an enclosure
TB: Kentish plover (KENPLs) are kept and bred in
captivity in the UK and Europe by both zoological institutions and
private aviculturists. KENPLS are generally considered easy to maintain
and breed. They must be held as compatible pairs in Spring and then in
groups, ideally with other wading species, from late summer. Through the
winter they require shelter and heat provision as they are cold
sensitive.
The programme will require a “Programme Plan” defining the number of founders required and the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases.
Assuming 30-40 Founders
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and England) - Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs and 30-40 birds in winter in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England.
- Field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Could ringed plover be a model species for
Kentish ?
Challenges
BH: would need to produce a large number of
birds as migratory species
BW: Space, secure long term investment into
infrastructure and staffing, predator proofing and good management of
environment between summer and winter. Genetic management of breeding
population if small number of genetically diverse founders. Continued
input of new founders. Length of project for a migratory species.
HB: Less challenging than other species.
KQ: Establishing breeding wader pops in
captivity is known to be achievable
KW: None via ZIMS, Expected to be in private
aviculture collections across Europe. Uncertain on how readily they
breed in captivity
LW: Creating the suitable breeding conditions-
as with Spoon Billed- issue was creating the artic niche needed for
breeding. This might take years to achieve- this is an unknown
QP: I believe plover spp have been bred
successfully in the US (piping plover), however I note the difficulties
mentioned in supp info
SN: There may be some knowledge and skills in
aviculture which could be applied here - eg: spoon-billed sandpiper.
However the set up required with limited knowledge is high risk
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go’ into an ex situ breeding programme will present challenges to
overcome.
YG: Presumably good chance here and examples of
other plovers reared successfully, though a wild/wild preferable?
YQ: Have complex mating behaviours that might
make it harder to keep them in captivity.
Cost Comment
BH: would need large aviaries for each pair with
suitable water features. Low productivity so programme would need to be
sustained for many years
BW: Infrastructure and staffing would be a large
cost over a number of years
KQ: moderately straightforward operation,
facilities moderately expensive
LW: Given previous schemes with other waders-
costs would be similar- savings made due to copying known strategies but
increases due to inflation. Unsure on exact cost but 250K over several
years is not an unusual grant provided.
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£870K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, INCLUDING care of 15-20 pairs (living in pairs in summer and together in winter) established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for year 0, then 0.25 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£529K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£341K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: release aviaries for soft releases as
suitable sites. Curlew and corncrake projects as models
BW: Juveniles reared in captivity transported
and released from acclimatisation aviary would be most likely Monitoring
for success of returns and breeding - migratory bird
HB: Unless disturbance can be rectified, which
is causing reductions in other vulnerable coastal breeding species
(e.g. Ringed Plover and Little Tern) then Kentish Plover reintroduction
would also fail. In some coastal locations, disturbance and recreational
pressure are increasing.
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and in England) - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or chicks/ fledglings.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 eggs and hatchlings and/ or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs and then as a flock during the winter months with shelter and heat provision and ideally with other captive wader species, e.g. redshank. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England. - Field workers for nest finding in source country, and post-release monitoring in England.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: limiting factors mitigated
BW: Release site management and predator control
Distance of rearing facility to release site - transportation of birds
post release monitoring Dedicated staffing
KQ: as per wild-wild - releasing viable birds is
almost certainly doable. habitat suitability/availabilty somwhat more of
an unknown
KW: Same as live to live
QP: Same challenges re UK coast lines.
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
BH: low cost release pens. Staff needed to care
for birds during soft release. Multiple year releases
BW: Most of the cost would be in the ex situ
setting. However infrastructure build of release pen, staffing,
accommodation, monitoring, gps tagging, predator and habitat management
over a number of year should be costly
KQ: relatively simple operation, not much
habitat restoration/creation needed assumes ex situ is costed
separately
KW: Includes disease screening
QP: Depends on extent of habitat modifications
but protecting these kinds of birds through breeding especially if
theyre specialist could cost, plus wardening costs
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£224K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, NOT including care of 20–25 pairs (living as groups in 3 aviaries) established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for years 0-5 (6 years). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0, then 0.1 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for years 0-5 (6 years). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£157K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£67K
Aggregated answers
Willow tit
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: would need to be sourced as eggs or chicks
from wild nests in the UK
JQ: North of England seems most abundant
populations but population trend unknown
KW: Endemic subspecies so would have to use
British stock. Whilst declining, still numerous enough and easy to
locate that this should not be too challenging. Would however need to
consider if relict populations (Cornwall) are suitable genetically.
Would we just use the suspected strongest remaining populations, or try
to take some from all to maximise genetic diversity?
LW: We would need to use UK birds- Willow tit in
UK is endemic subspecies. As such source population needs to come from
UK. Uke Pop very fragmented with high levels of inbreeding
SN: wild populations across Europe
TB: WILD. England: ~4,300 pairs.
Midlands/ north west England and/or north-east England.
YQ: Wild in UK
Challenges
BH: ensuring wild harvest does not impact wild
population
BW: Licencing and support for wild take for bird
in serious regional decline, where habitat management can help
JQ: productivity of Willow tits in uk has been
declining but it is unknown if any areas are still producing excess
juveniles as source for introductions. Adult survival declines with
higher annual temperatures so need to target northern populations.
KQ: no problem with import etc, and nests
accessible and findable. Local site managers may be very reluctant to
sanction this, given dire situation of species
TB: Founder Sourcing Strategy
My preferred approach is to source founders as eggs or chicks from wild Willow Tit populations in northern England. Two options exist:
Wild-to-Wild Translocation: Collect approximately 20+ eggs or chicks annually for 5+ years to establish a viable population.
Ex Situ Breeding Population: A one-off collection of 30–50 eggs or fledglings to achieve 20–25 breeding pairs in a conservation breeding programme.
Feasibility and Challenges
Artificial incubation and hand-rearing have been successfully achieved for blue tits (Paridae), but not attempted for Willow Tits to my knowledge willow tits have been bred in captivity in England, but only in very small numbers, suggesting that achieving target productivity may take time.
Locating nests will be challenging; however, monitored populations and experienced nest finders exist in the Manchester area.
Willow tits excavate their own nest chambers (rarely use artificial boxes), so egg or chick extraction would destroy the nest site, likely causing abandonment. Entire clutches or broods would need to be collected from each harvested nest.
Key Challenges and Requirements
- Licensing and Permissions Collection from the Wild:
a/ Obtain a Natural England licence for egg or chick collection. b/ Secure landowner permission for collection activities.
Release in England: a/ Confirm if a release licence is required from Natural England. b/ Obtain landowner permission for release sites.
Aviculture Infrastructure Establish facilities for: a/ Egg incubation and chick hand-rearing. b/ Conservation breeding. c/ Soft-release enclosures at the release site.
Staffing a/ Field workers for nest finding and monitoring. b/ Aviculturists for incubation and rearing. c/ Veterinarians for health checks and biosecurity.
Funding Secure sufficient funding to cover: a/ Collection and transport. b/ Aviculture operations. c/ Post-release monitoring for the full duration of the programme.
YG: Plenty of breeding Willow Tit and not too
difficult to find nests, but finding enough without impacts on local
populations presumably challenging.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: translocation of adult birds. Soft release
methods could be trailed against hard release. Isolated habitat may mean
birds don’t disperse.
BW: Monitoring nests and fledging of young
Catching juveniles or fledglings Transporting young to large release
aviaries in suitable wet woodland sites Release
JQ: detailed climate and habitat suitability
assessment. Assess abundance of Great spotted woodpecker the main nest
predator and likely contributor to low breeding success.
KW: Likely if it were to occur, translocating
birds from England to Scotland, as this is the only place in Britain
where current suspected drivers (competition, climate change) may be low
enough, as well as suitable habitat existing/being created. Avicultural
trialling needed
LW: Capture of birds in one location (mistnet?)-
release as soon as possible into suitable habitat elsewhere.
SN: complexities with territoriality. will take
time for birds to learn where resources are. Habitat management
essential prior to release. Possible supportive techniques could be
used
TB: Key Activities (applicable to all other
options)
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats with adequate resources.
Translocation Operations Capture, transport, and release birds by adopting best-practice protocols developed by (overseas) conservationists restoring populations of other small passerine species e.g. in Mauritius and/or NZ.
Habitat Enhancement Maintenance of scrub corridors connecting extant or newly created wet woodland including retention of standing deadwood. This likely to be critical for long-term population establishment and will facilitate dispersal and natural colonisation.
Monitoring and Research Leg ringing for tracking and monitoring of survival and subsequent wild breeding success.
Community Engagement Collaboration with landowners and stakeholders to ensure long-term support will be key to securing suitable habitat.
My preference is for founders to be sourced as eggs or fledglings from wild birds but in case of WILTI, full-grown (sub-adult/ adult) birds might settle better than naive young birds at release sites. This would have to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings/ sub adults or adults. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and rearing facility will be a challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions a/ Collection from the Wild:
- Obtaining a licence to collect from NE.
- Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
b/ Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities (i.e. soft-release aviaries).
- Staffing
- Fieldworkers to find nests and/or catch fledglings and for post-release monitoring plus aviculturists and veterinarians.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Easier as not migratory passerine, very
sedentary
Challenges
BH: ensuring not to impact the source
population
BW: Enough habitat suitability - presence of
competitive and predatory species
Stress and management of birds in catching and moving Ongoing management
of sites and monitoring for success
JQ: ensuring the translocation doesn’t
detrimentally affect the source populations. determining time span that
target areas are likely to be suitable for in a species where
suitability is linked to climate change.
KQ: There is almost nowhere where Willow tits
are doing well, so while it is likely feasible to release sufficient
viable individuals, there is low confidence that this results in
established populations. This might have to be done very experimentally
over a number of years, to find out what sorts of habitats can support
willow tit (e.g. areas occupied by beavers) i think there are real
questions about what willow tits really thrive in (is young wet scrub
actually optimal or a suboptimal refuge?) and whether the general
challenges (competition,predation) are basically operating
everywhere
KW: Almost a total unknown at this stage - has a
tit translocation ever been tried before? Would need obvious ecological
feasibility, plus developing avicultural techniques for translocation
for this species. More research on drivers of decline (ongoing) would be
useful, but we may not have time for completely iron-clad results due to
scale of decline. Cross-border translocation - early England-Scotland
liaison needed. Cross-border translocation - early England-Scotland
liaison needed.
LW: Find area of suitable habitat- assess
feasibility - GSPW, Pine Martin, Great and Blue Tit presence?
QP: Ensuring adequate food availability for
nesting season
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: As it stands, given strong declines and that
WTs are still in trial management, there has to be a high degree of
uncertainty over whether we fully understand what is needed.
Cost Comment
BH: Harvesting from nests in the UK so cost
would be low
JQ: this assumes translocation sites exist and
do not have to have extensive habitat creation as part of the
programme
KQ: very difficult to cost because type of
operation very unclear. Could be anything from boosting an existing
population via headstarting to experimentally establishing several new
populations which may or may not need a lot of habitat management
KW: Include disease screening, avicultural
trials
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£409K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.25 FTE for year 0. then 0.5 for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for year 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.2 FTE for years 0, then 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£325K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£84K
YQ: Birds / eggs available in UK
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: establishment of 20-40 pairs. Housed
separately. Low cost aviaries as heated indoor area not needed.
BW: Pairs of birds in individual aviaries with
habitat mimicking wet woodland with dead wood for nesting. Potential for
hand rearing later stage chicks to adapt to captivity and increase ex-
situ population.
JQ: donors would be taken from several source
populations. as they only breed annually focus would need to be on
reducing losses from egg to breeding age to maximise growth of ex situ
population to provide source birds for release.
KW: Founder stock from multiple remaining UK
populations (or just the strongest?). Trial aviculture on similar more
widespread species first. Programme to safeguard endemic subspecies and
keep genetically viable for captive release if deemed ecologically
appropriate.
SN: small breeding units could be set up quite
cheaply.
TB: Assuming 30-40 founders (for 15-20
pairs)
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced as wild bird eggs/ fledglings, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg incubation and chick rearing
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs of willow tits (WILTIs). - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians. Field workers for nest finding.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: establishment of husbandry protocols for the
species
BW: Success in breeding pairs, building
knowledge and success of captive management
JQ: tits are not commonly kept or bred in
activity which suggests this may be difficult and likelihood of success
largely unknown. for research which uses captive birds these are usually
temporarily taken into captivity for the experiment.
KQ: seems no major barrier to this being
done
KW: How long can captive birds be kept before
they are not fit for release back into the wild. Consideration of which
donor stock to use. Not sure this species has ever been kept in
captivity before, so a lot of unknowns. Which donor stock to use.
TB: Assumption that founders are sourced as eggs
or fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and
rearing facility will be a challenge, as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence from NE to collect. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities.
- Staffing
- Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest-finding and post-release monitoring.
Cost Comment
BH: would be lower cost than red-back shrike
ex-situ estimates
JQ: no idea of ex-situ cost but assume need
quite a lot of reasonably large aviaries as they do not occur in large
groups and naturally have large home ranges.
KQ: moderately straightforward avicultural
operation
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£520K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including care of 15–20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.25 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.2 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£368K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£152K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: soft release aviaries for releasing young
birds. Short term supplementary feeding to get released birds
established
BW: Acclimatisation aviaries built at site for
release
JQ: If possible find release sites with Crested
tit populations as these co-occur in continental Europe and create mixed
species winter foraging flocks, this may provide greater resilience
during the first year. ensure birds have large woodland aviaries for
natural foraging opportunities prior to release. Release in summer when
territory settling naturally occurs and release in small groups of up to
6 birds as they naturally occur in mixed age and sex groups during
winter. Have multiple release sites a few kilometres apart with well
connected habitat to allow some redistribution and spring territorial
exploring.
SN: caution if species released into habitat
occupied by extant birds due to territorial aggression.
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced as wild bird eggs or fledglings, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick Rearing - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field workers for post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Easier as not migratory passerine, very
sedentary
Challenges
BH: limiting factors mitigated
BW: Enough habitat suitability - presence of
competitive and predatory species
Stress and management of birds in catching and moving Ongoing management
of sites and monitoring for success
JQ: ensuring birds have natural foraging
experience before release to maximise changes of surviving the post
release phase while learning in the wild. Release sites have extensive
enough habitat and sufficient suitable nesting substrate.
KQ: same considerations as for wild-to-wild
KW: Ensuring captive population is genetically
fit for release. Ecological feasibility. Cross-border translocation -
early England-Scotland liaison needed.
QP: Habitat availability & food
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
BH: low cost soft release aviaries. Staff needed
to care for birds while in soft release aviaries
JQ: expect there to be significant assessment
cost for new areas for release as well as some infrastructure and staff
costs for creating soft release sites. not including land acquisition or
management costs.
KQ: very difficult to cost because type of
operation very unclear. Could be anything from boosting an existing
population via headstarting to experimentally establishing several new
populations which may or may not need a lot of habitat management
This assumes ex situ management is costed separately
KW: Include disease screening, avicultural
trialling
QP: I am assuming that release site and
management would focus on existing suitable habitats rather than
creating new ones, and that captive rearing would be relatively cheap
for this species as I don’t think it is specialist, needs a lot of time
or space.
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£190K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating from year 3 as 15-20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£155K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£35K
Aggregated answers
Lesser spotted woodpecker
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: would need to harvest chicks from wild nests
in the UK. Bring adult birds into captivity unlikely to succeed
JQ: our knowledge of potential source
populations is reliant on knowledge from a few areas which have
entusiast monitoring them.
KW: Endemic UK subspecies so British stock would
need to be used. Are adults or juveniles taken? Would likely have to be
at nest sites, unless trying to net adults?
TB: WILD. England ~600 pairs.
New Forest, England.
YQ: No evidence of them being held in zoos or
private hands 600 - 1000 wild breeding pairs in UK
Challenges
BH: Accessing nests for chick harvest.
Harvesting in a way that does not impact source population.
JQ: our knowledge of abundance and distribution
of this species is limited due to low detectability, nests are also time
consuming to find so stability or ability to supply source birds is
difficult to assess
KQ: very hard to find and access nests, thinly
spread population local site managers may be very reluctant to
support
KW: Key question is how big does the donor
population need to be? Very few nests found each year, not all finders
would agree for birds to be taken. Nests are usually very hard to reach
(high up on dead trees). None of this is insurmountable if the evidence
suggests this is what is needed to safeguard the British subspecies, but
we would need to know what size of donor population was needed before
embarking, as well as extensive trials on other more common species to
perfect the protocol. Above all, it would have to be ecologically
imperative - so suggest waiting until after national survey gives us
better idea of numbers and trends. Although there is of course the
danger of waiting until it’s too late, and then not being about to find
enough birds to build a stock. Do we start early and graudally?
TB: 1. Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from NE. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities
- Staffing
- Fieldworkers to find nests and/or catch fledglings and for post-release monitoring, aviculturists, veterinarians.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YG: Not in captivity and would expected finding
enough nests very difficult.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: translocations of adult birds might work but
their could be a risk of them trying to fly back to the home
territories. Translocating head stated chicks may be for successful
BW: Young pre-fledglings from donor population
collected, reared in captivity and released at suitable site which may
be the site they are, to increase numbers
JQ: assessment of dead wood for nest sites and
drumming trees, is there likely to be sufficient invertebrate food,
large extent of habitat needed for each pair. assess whether the species
is absent already.
SN: Competition with GSW ?
TB: Key Activities
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats with adequate resources.
Translocation Operations Capture, transport, and release birds using best-practice protocols e.g. those developed for red-cockaded woodpecker in the USA and/or white-backed woodpecker in Sweden where success has been achieved making soft releases of translocated from aviaries at the woodland release site.
Habitat Enhancement Maintenance of mature woodland including retention of standing deadwood will be critical for recovery as will improved connectivity i.e. restoration/ creation of new wet wood/ scrub corridors to provide connectivity to mature broadleaf woodland in order to facilitate dispersal and natural colonisation.
Monitoring and Research Leg ringing and or telemetry devices for tracking. Monitoring to assess annual breeding success.
Community Engagement Collaboration with landowners and stakeholders to ensure long-term support will be key to securing suitable habitat.
My preference is for founders to be sourced as eggs or fledglings from wild birds. This would have to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and rearing facility will be a challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions a/ Collection from the Wild:
- Obtaining a licence to collect from NE.
- Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
b/ Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities (i.e. soft-release aviaries).
- Staffing
- Fieldworkers to find nests and/or catch fledglings and for post-release monitoring plus aviculturists and veterinarians.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: if head starting, hand rearing and release
protocols would need to be developed.
KQ: some similarities to willow tit. It is known
to be feasible to translocate viable individuals in sufficient numbers
of taxa like this. However, if moved to a location with no lesser
spotted woodpeckers, they must have been lost in the fairly recent past,
and what makes us think things have improved in the meantime? Do we have
a habitat ‘recipe’ for successful populations and how long will it take
to provide it? Thinly spread species - large areas of suitable habitat
needed
KW: see challenges for donor stock, all of these
plus the fact we cannot yet effectively monitor for success and do not
adequately understand drivers of decline. This may change in the future
when we have more evidence, but for now success very unlikely.
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: Given LSW are in diagnosis, then it feels
far too early to think about any releases.
Cost Comment
BH: possibly require head starting so would hand
rearing staff would be needed and translocations would be over multiple
years
JQ: if source and translocation sites can be
found this should be straight forward
KQ: As with willow tit, high uncertainty and
high upper cost potential because of unknown habitat needs, potential
for many experimental releases, etc
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£473K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 5 years.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 FTE for year 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for years 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for years 0, then 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£373K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£100K
YQ: Birds could be used from resident UK
population
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: the species can be kept in aviculture but
uncertain if they could be maintained and bred at the scale needed for
reintroductions. The white-backed woodpecker project in Sweden is a good
model though the species are quite different.
KW: Develop avicultural trialling and perfect
protocol on more common species (both domestic and international). Once
this has been perfected and evidence is stronger that ex-situ
interventions will be needed (perhaps after national survey), use
Woodpecker Network Volunteers, and source birds from those nest finders
who agree.
TB: Assuming 30 Founders
Follow best-practice protocols e.g. those developed for white-backed woodpecker in Sweden where success has been achieved in captive-breeding and subsequent soft releases from aviaries in suitable woodland habitat.
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced as wild bird eggs/ fledglings, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg incubation and chick rearing
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 25 breeding pairs of LESWOs. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians.
- Field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: would need to develop the husbandry
understanding the protocols and this could take some time
JQ: it is unknown how to breed this species in
captivity and relatively few woodpeckers are kept in captivity.
KQ: This should be perfectly feasible
KW: All of the challenges associated with donor
stock, but once this had been resolved then whether the species will
even breed in captivity - has it ever been tried before? A lot of
unknowns.
TB: Assumption that founders would be sourced as
eggs or fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation
and rearing facility in will be a challenge, as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence from NE to collect. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release (albeit not a pre-requisite for ex situ breeding): - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities.
- Staffing
- Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest-finding and post-release monitoring.
Cost Comment
BH: aviary design may require pairs to be held
in individual breeding aviaries separated by some distance as is the
case with white-backed woodpeckers. This would be more expensive than a
row of breeding flights
KQ: moderately straightforward avicultural
operation with moderately expensive facilities
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£559K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including care of 20–25 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.25 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.25 FTE for years 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£403K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£156K
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: soft release of young birds
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced as wild bird eggs or fledglings, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field workers for post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: limiting factors would need to be
mitigated
KQ: Same situation as wild-wild
translocation
KW: see challenges for donor stock, all of these
plus the fact we cannot yet effectively monitor for success and do not
adequately understand drivers of decline (plus the fact they may not
breed in captivity). This may change in the future when we have more
evidence, but for now success very unlikely.
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
BH: would need soft release aviaries and staff
to manage this
KQ: As with willow tit, high uncertainty and
high upper cost potential because of unknown habitat needs, potential
for many experimental releases, etc
assume ex situ costs are separate
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£195K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating from year 3 as 15-20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£155K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£40K
Aggregated answers
Eurasian wryneck
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: would need to find wild nests from which
chicks could be harvested. Capture of adult birds difficult and these
would be unlikely to adapt to captivity. Sourcing birds from existing
captive populations very unlikely and would come with uncertainty about
providence
HB: A very small number in captivity. Difficulty
in collecting cavity nesting woodpeckers - need to destroy nest hole, or
climbing rotten trees.
JQ: this species is stable across central europe
so teher is probably donor populations somewhere
KW: Still widespread and abundant parts of
Europe
LW: Possibly birds already in aviculture-
otherwise nearest wild populations.
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: ~674,000–1.6
million pairs
TOP 3 countries: Sweden (~150,000 pairs), Finland (~120,000 pairs), Germany (~100,000 pairs)
YG: Presumably available in private collections
and wild donor.
YQ: The numbers exist > 3.98 million, but im
uncertain how suitable they are for translocation or captive breeding,
particularly the latter.
Elusive and hard to find, but have large clutches with high fledgling rate (70%)
Challenges
BH: challenging to find a donner population and
to import into the UK under current Import Health Certificate
requirements
KQ: Would have to be sourced from nearby
continental populations, with associated bureaucratic challenges, but
should be doable. moderately low density populations mean moderately
large amount of fieldwork need to be from source pops that are close
enough for appropriate migration
LW: Migratory species so source needs to be
found near as possible to UK
QP: I imagine capture could be hard, but I don’t
know
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or chicks from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have to
be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ chicks per year or as a one off collection of ~50 eggs/
fledglings to establish 15-20 pairs in a captive programme. Finding wild
birds’ nests will be a challenge. Setting up incubation and rearing
facility in country of origin, pre-export, will likely be a challenge as
will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture (incubation and hand-rearing) facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and breeding aviaries and soft release enclosures (for wild-to-wild translocations) in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: would need to source fertile eggs or chicks
and head start for release in the UK. As they migratory species a wild
to wild translocation of adult birds would be unlikely to work
BW: Young pre-fledglings from donor population
collected, reared in captivity and released at suitable site. Licensing
for catching donor birds and wild take in Europe Catching and transport
techniques of young Captive management/quarantine of birds for release
after transport Soft release aviaries at release Monitoring Health and,
disease risk management
HB: Technically challenging. Do not understand
underlying causes of species’ extinction. Judgement to attempt to
remedy.
LW: We have enough suitable habitat- releasing
enough viable birds into an area several years in a row would likely be
enough to establish a population.
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have
to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up
incubation and rearing facility in country of origin, pre-export, will
be a challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and release aviaries in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: importation of birds into the UK would be
challenging
BW: Collection, transportation, set up of
facility, release techniques, staffing, knowledge base
JQ: as a migratory species it may be difficult
to get sufficient birds returning for establishing breeding
population.
the species is dependent on ant rich habitats and there are few areas where there is extensive areas of such habitats. recreating these habitats takes decades.
KQ: Woodpecker releases known to work
operationally There is a good model of what wryneck habitat needs are,
and it seems fairly feasible to provide them. Spatial scale may be a
challenge Need to get ‘critical mass’ of numbers and a scale of habitat
that can support a viable population
KW: Wryneck are passage visitors to the UK, but
do now not breed often - does this indicate lack of suitable habitat, or
lack of site fidelity?
LW: Knowing what age class to translocate. If
adults they may migrate away then return to original breeding areas.
Releasing birds into an area with lots of GSWP which create the cavities needed (but also risks nest predation)
SN: as the species is migratory, suitable source
populations must be considered ie innate migratory routes. Also a
specialist feeder so supplemental feeding could be required to help
establish a new population until local knowledge of resources is
established
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: A lot of uncertainty here. Wild climate
space appears suitable, concerns around impact of precipitation levels
in summer. Low confidence in there being suitable habitat at scale.
Cost Comment
BH: would need to head start chicks as wild to
wild translocation of adults would not work as migratory. This would
require facilities and staffing and donner and release sites
BW: Monitoring and longevity of project required
for establishing a population of a long distance migrant would make it
expensive
KQ: don’t think the habitat creation/management
would be as expensive for this species as some others
KW: Disease screening relatively expensive
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£558K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including translocation of 25-50 eggs/ fledglings from source country for rearing for release
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for year 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0 and year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£410K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£148K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: founding stock would need to be sourced as
chicks. One pair per aviary. Diet might be difficult but can be
acclimatised to insectivore mixes and small commercially produced
insects. Would nest on artificial nest boxes or hollow logs.
BW: Research into private breeding success; set
up of facility for pairing adult birds, holding juveniles etc.
incubation and rearing, staffing long term as long lived birds. A number
of unrelated breeding pairs housed in pairs in flighted aviaries with
soft netting and nest boxes Additional aviaries for fledglings and then
young birds to be paired once mature Hand rearing late stage facilities
to adapt birds to captive setting Additional flights to house birds
before they reach breeding aged where they when they would be paired
Ringing/tagging individuals Carful genetic management of pairings
Dedicated experienced staff to manage the ex situ population
HB: Larger pens - possibly separated.
Potentially separate indoor facility.
SN: As far as I am aware, there is very little
avicultural knowledge or experience with this species so it would mean
starting from scratch. There may however be some transferrence of
knowledge from woodpecker spp
TB: Eurasian wrynecks (WRYN) have been kept and
bred in captivity by private aviculturists in Europe. Rumours of the
same in the UK. Woodpecker avicultural know-how has been developed,
albeit for white-backed woodpeckers (WBW), by Norden’s Ark (a zoo in SW
Sweden). Norden’s Ark successfully ‘captive-breed’ WBW for
reintroduction. WRYN likely to require specialist aviaries (i.e. high
sided) to provide appropriate habitat in form of tall deciduous
trees.
Assuming 30 Founders
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced as wild bird eggs/ fledglings, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg incubation and chick rearing
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs of Eurasian wryneck. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians.
- Field Workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: maintaining ex-situ population without the
need to provide ants as diet.
BW: Success in captive management and breeding,
there are not many birds successfully breeding in captivity - reserch
into successes in Europe Establishing good productive breeding pairs -
captive productivity of genetically diverse release population Aviary
space and design Migratory restlessness Founding population licence for
subsequent wild take to improve population- number available and keeping
them unrelated. Fairly long lived, so depending on initial wild take,
how to source additional founders Dedicated management of the birds
length of project required for migratory species
HB: Experimental - need to develop husbandry
protocol with limited evidence from other woodpecker ex-situ
programmes.
KQ: No major barriers likely if facilities, time
and money available
QP: Need specialist care and aggressive I think,
so overall could be less likely to succeed.
SN: one or two established private breeders in
UK
TB: Assumption that founders would be sourced as
eggs or fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation
and rearing facility in will be a challenge, as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence from NE to collect. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release (albeit not a pre-requisite for ex situ breeding): - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities.
- Staffing
- Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest-finding and post-release monitoring.
YF: Little information on husbandry Need to
develop husbandry protocols Heated winter accommodation needed
YG: Presumably pretty likely that individuals
could be wild bred.
YQ: Not believed to be good in captivity.
Zoos have little experience with woodpecker sps. (Paradise park had yellow-napped woodpecker?)
Some suggestion european private breeders do ok with certain woodecker sps.
Not social birds, so would need multiple units
Cost Comment
BH: comparable to red-backed shrike estimated
costs
KQ: facilities moderate, staff resource
moderate
QP: Knowing little, but if aggressive, would
need large and multiple enclosures
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£770K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, INCLUDING care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£600K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£170K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: Migratory species so would need to release
large numbers over many years
BW: Find suitable release site, land owner
engagement for long term management, nest box provision, food provision,
monitoring, gps tracking for migrant, develop release techniques, build
release holding facility, dedicated staff required
HB: Confidence we do not know much! Do not know
what was responsible for historic loss and nothing has been done to
remedy potential cause of decline. Potentially (likely) that conditions
may have become worse (as they have done for many other woodland /
migrants).
QP: Nest boxes as per info…
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced as wild bird eggs or fledglings, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field workers for post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: suitable habitat with wood ants would need
to be available
BW: As a migratory bird with specialist diet,
creating the conditions in the wild where the birds can survive and
imprint on the rearing site to return the following year is a huge
challenge.
HB: Lack of knowledge and inability to remedy
unknown causes of decline. Were relatively widespread (southern England
to Scotland), so it seems unlikely climatic changes could have improved
conditions.
JQ: the challenges are the same as wild to wild
translocation i.e. sufficient return rate extensive enough suitable
habitat
KQ: as wild-wild: should be possible to release
viable birds. Habitat availability/suitability is not certain but
reasonable confidence. Spatial scale of habitat might be
challenging.
KW: Same issues as live-to-live
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
HB: Costs could increase significantly with
appropriate habitat management.
KQ: as with others, this includes habitat
restoration/management but does not include ex situ management prior to
translocation
KW: Disease screening relatively expensive
QP: I think the habitat mostly still exists and
nest boxes are cheap and easy to monitor. Tracking migration and
survival would cost though
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£195K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, NOT including care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating in year 2 as 15–20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£155K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£40K
Aggregated answers
Black tern
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: Would need to take for breeding sites.
HB: Wild continental source populations exist -
difficulty with collections and disturbance / failure.
SN: Although there are no ex-situ source
populations, there is knowledge and avicultural experience of breeding
other tern spp. However based upon the social ecology and impact of
habitat loss, the restoration of this species seems unlikely
TB: WILD: Europe, estimated population:
‘hundreds of thousands’ of pairs.
TOP 3 countries: Poland (~20,000–30,000 pairs), Netherlands (~10,000 pairs), Germany (~8,000 pairs).
YQ: None in zoos Number of mature wild birds
unknown, however, still registered as least concern so probably >
10,000 (Birdlife)
Challenges
BH: it appears that most breeding sites are in
the far east
BW: Any disturbance to a wild colony could have
detrimental effect, birds in captivity not available.
HB: Concerns around collections from floating
vegetation and disturbance / failure of semi-colonial nesters.
JQ: this species is declining across its
European range.
KQ: donor colony would preferably be near-ish to
UK (for appropriate migration, local adaptation etc), which probably
means Netherlands, where populations are smaller than in eastern europe
Easy to collect chicks in numbers once permission to extract from a
colony obtained
KW: Still fairly widespread, but significant
declines across Europe may make neighbouring countries reluctant to
grant donor populations? Especially those closest to Britain where
colonies are most isolated.
LW: It is always best to translocate from as
near as possible or similar climates. Black Terns nearest breeding
ranges are quite considerable distance from UK, those that are not are
already small isolated populations
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or chicks from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have to
be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ chicks. Finding wild birds’ nests should not be difficult
as the species breeds in colonies. Setting up incubation and rearing
facility in country of origin, pre-export, will likely be a challenge as
will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture (incubation and hand-rearing) facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and soft release enclosures in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: this would require head starting so not
really wild to wild. Translocation of adult birds would not work at
all
HB: Headstarting type approach would be
necessary. Securing sufficient donor stock difficult and transport and
rearing technically challenging.
JQ: would need extensive wet vegetated
marshland.
TB: A wild-to-wild (W2W) translocation programme
for black tern (BLATEs) should be guided by the methodology successfully
developed in New Zealand for the Fairy Tern (FT). The Netherlands could
serve as a source of wild eggs or chicks for translocation. Chicks could
be hand-reared using protocols refined for FT and then released via
soft-release enclosures at one or more undisturbed shallow freshwater
sites where Common Terns breed.
The presence of free-living Common Terns may be critical to success, as they could provide a natural “training service” for naïve BLATEs—helping them learn essential behaviors such as where and how to forage and ultimately where to migrate through social learning and mimicry.
If founders are sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 5-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and/or chick rearing (overseas and in England) - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Aviaries - Fully furnished RELEASE enclosures to house up to desired number of releasees. - Special Care Aviaries
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England. - Field Workers for egg collection, chick care, and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5-10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: importing eggs/chicks from donner sites
would need exceptions to current Import Health Certificates for
birds
BW: Terns are very sensitive to disturbance and
specialist feeders translocation would be very challanging and could
have a detrimental effect on the source colony
HB: Establishing a locally extinct colonially
nesting species very difficult. No attraction of conspecifics. Need use
of lures / decoys and hope a soft release might limit natal dispersal.
Concerns causes of historic loss not fully understood and suitable
wetlands at a sufficient scale with undisturbed floating / emergent
vegetation for nesting could be limiting.
JQ: migrant colonial and susceptible to
disturbance and low breeding success.
KQ: Terns not very philopatric Terns have
extensive post-fledging care including on first migration Suitable
wetlands may exist and could be restored, but water quantity and quality
are going to be critical and these are hard to get right at scale in
lowland English landscapes
KW: How confident are we in the cause of
decline, and whether this has been addressed? Possible that large-scale
fenland restoration may have addressed to some extent, but is this
enough?
QP: Few source populations close to UK. Natal
fidelity & breaking migratory patterns
SN: although the species has a broad global
distribution, I am unsure about sub-speciation across regions.
Challenges would need to be addressed regarding appropriate source
population for a migratory species along with the impacts upon a highly
social forager and communal nester
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or chicks from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have to
be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ chicks. Finding wild birds’ nests should not be difficult
as the species breeds in colonies. Setting up incubation and rearing
facility in country of origin, pre-export, will likely be a challenge as
will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture (incubation and hand-rearing) facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and soft release enclosures in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
YG: Climate space moving away from the UK. Small
population from Poland westwards. Very edge of range for a migrant
tern.
Cost Comment
BH: sourcing and importing birds would be
expensive and hand rearing facilities and staff needed
KQ: as per oriole, the major cost is habitat
restoration/maintenance. the actual operation of translocating birds
much cheaper
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£520K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, rearing-for release 20-50 black terns from wild collected eggs or chicks.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.3 FTE for years 0, then 0.25 years 1-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for year 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.15 FTE for year 0, then 0.4 FTE for year 1-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.3 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£330K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£190K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: Would need very large aviaries and
development of husbandry expertise which doesn’t currently exist for
tern species with the exceptions of Inca terns
HB: Constructing a facility for a semi-colonial
species that would require a wetland element.
LW: A huge area with live fish in water deep
enough for birds to dive into and catch. Suitable ground nesting habitat
within this enclosure- ensure area totally clear from any ground
predators including mice and rats that might predate any nesting
attempts
TB: I believe Black Terns (BLATEs) are unlikely
to thrive in a captive setting - particularly within an ex situ breeding
programme where success would be defined as producing enough offspring
to make a release programme feasible (i.e. 20-50 young produced annually
for 5+ years).
To maintain birds in good health, they would require large, predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds of prey), with shelter and heating during winter. Even with these provisions, the species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term captive success would be challenging.
In contrast, a wild-to-wild (W2W) translocation approach appears far more promising. This methodology has been successfully developed in New Zealand for the Fairy Tern (FT) and could be adapted for BLATEs. The Netherlands could serve as a source of wild eggs or chicks for translocation. Chicks could be hand-reared using protocols refined for FT and then released via soft-release enclosures at one or more undisturbed shallow freshwater sites where Common Terns breed.
The presence of free-living Common Terns may be critical to success, as they could provide a natural “training service” for naïve BLATEs—helping them learn essential behaviors such as where and how to forage and ultimately where to migrate through social learning and mimicry.
YG: I don’t have any experience, but presumably
more likely than unlikely given other terns have been bred in captivity
for translocations.
Challenges
BH: would be extremely resource heavy with low
confidence of success
BW: Breeding terns in captivity is really
difficult they are social nesters and sensitive to disturbance,
specialist feeders etc. etc.
HB: Developing a husbandry protocol for a tern
species, where there are few other examples of captive breeding
programmes for Sterna - even less for closely related Chlidonia species?
Possibly Inca Tern more commonly kept in captivity.
KQ: Terns (esp Inca tern) are kept and bred in
captivity, but not sure if long-distance migrants are (caspian?)? Not
very fecund
KW: Listed as “1 other” in captivity (what does
this mean?) - species is presumably hard to breed in captivity, so
success low.
LW: Replicating a habitat for tens in captivity
that would lead them to successfully reproduce will be challenging.
Large spaces with areas for them to dive into water to feed…!
QP: There could be post fledging parental care
in this species, which would need to be replaced, and could be
challenging
SN: there is currently no ex-situ population
available
TB: I do not think black tern will thrive and
become ‘breeders’, to the extent needed for a successful reintroduction
programme, when in a captive situation. They would require large,
predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds of prey), with
shelter and heating during winter. Even with these provisions, the
species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term captive success
would be challenging.
YQ: Dont believe zoos have held black terns,
although they have experience with other species (Inca, fairy).
Black terns are semi-colonial, so maybe not so easy to keep?
Cost Comment
BH: would require large aviaries for each pair
or pairs to be possible. Yearly productivity would be low so would take
many years to establish variable wild population
KQ: expensive facilities and very high running
costs
LW: Based on size of enclosure and challenges -
this would possibly take years for birds to be comfortable enough to
breed.
TB: No details presented, as, at this point, I
believe this is a non-starter.
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: would be the same process as releases for
head starting. Work with New Zealand fiery tern would be a good
model
BW: It would be very unlikely as an ex-situ
population would not be feasible therefore captive to wild
translocation
LW: Release into a suitable area in UK with
enough lack of competition
QP: Given their foraging range / sensitivity
they would need extensive habitat restoration. Post fledging parental
care would need to be thought through. Tracking to understand
fidelity.
TB: I believe Black Terns (BLATEs) are unlikely
to thrive in a captive setting - particularly within an ex situ breeding
programme where success would be defined as producing enough offspring
to make a release programme feasible (i.e. 20-50 young produced annually
for 5+ years).
To maintain birds in good health, they would require large, predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds of prey), with shelter and heating during winter. Even with these provisions, the species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term captive success would be challenging.
Challenges
BH: suitable release sites needed
KQ: see wild-to-wild for challenges around
habitat suitability/availability See wild-to-wild for challenges around
how to release terns into a new location
KW: Mostly same issues as live-to-live
translocation
LW: Finding somewhere to release birds in UK
were they could thrive. Most of our tern colonies are at risk from human
disturbance-dog walkers etc. Also ground nesting predators and gulls.
Tern conservation is challenging..!
TB: Key Activities
Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable recipient habitats with adequate resources.
Translocation Operations Transport, and release birds using best-practice protocols e.g. those for fairy tern in NZ.
Habitat Enhancement Maintenance of undisturbed islands on extensive shallow freshwater wetlands with breeding common tern.
Monitoring and Research Leg ringing and or telemetry devices for tracking. Monitoring to assess annual breeding success.
Community Engagement Collaboration with landowners and stakeholders to ensure long-term support will be key to securing suitable habitat.
Licensing and Permissions Release:
- Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE.
- Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities (i.e. soft-release enclosures).
- Staffing
- Aviculturists and fieldworkers to feed fledglings at release site and for post-release monitoring plus and veterinarians.
YG: As with wild/wild, climate space moving away
and would be very edge of range for a migrant tern.
Cost Comment
BH: would require predator proof fenced
enclosure to introduce fledgeling birds from which they would fly out
when ready. Staffing needed to care for bird in release pens. GPS
tracking of released birds
HB: Costs could be higher if including funding
necessary for remedying causes of decline and recreating suitable
nesting habitat / reducing disturbance / wardening.
KQ: assumes the ex situ bit is costed separately
and this just pays for the actual translocation PLUS the habitat
restoration/management that is necessary
QP: Factoring in large scale habitat works into
the translocation part c)
TB: No details presented, as, at this point, I
believe this is a non-starter.
Aggregated answers
Roseate tern
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: could harvest chicks/eggs from colonies in
the UK if still existing after being hit by avian influenza
JQ: only one sizable uk colony at coquet, unsure
about other European sources
QP: Coquet, Rockabill
TB: WILD UK: England (~150–250 pairs)
Croquet Island, Northumberland (110-120 pairs)
YQ: wild, none in captivity still breeding in
uk, but not many and highly localised
Challenges
BH: if needed to source birds from outside the
UK this would be more logistically challenging and costly
KQ: easy enough to harvest eggs from
populations. including potentially in UK. Site managers may be reluctant
considering status of species
LW: Due to sub pops would need to ensure taking
from correct one. Also unknown status/numbers so no way to know if it
has an effect on them or not- what level of sourcing is
proportionate
QP: Coquet has suffered from avian flu and as
such is in recovery, I imagine other colonies are similar. Therefore
managers may not wish to donate birds/eggs at this time. Otherwise I
think egg harvesting could work.
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or chicks from wild birds breeding in England or Ireland. This
would have to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild
translocations of e.g. 20+ eggs/ chicks. Finding wild birds’ nests
should not be difficult as the species breeds in colonies e.g. on
Croquet Island in Northumberland. Challenge will include:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a Natural England (NE) licence to collect eggs or chicks. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities for egg incubation and chick hand-rearing and soft release enclosures at the release site.
Staffing Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YG: As long as there is not a HPAI spike, then
should be straightforward to source from Coquet and Rockabill.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: this would only work with head started young
birds. New Zealand fairy tern project would be a model
JQ: would probably need some form of fostering
as juveniles stay with adults after fledging getting some food as they
learn to fish.
TB: A wild-to-wild (W2W) translocation programme
for roseate tern (ROSTE) should be guided by the methodology
successfully developed in New Zealand for the fairy tern (FT). The
increasingly productive population on Croquet Island in Northumberland
could serve as a source of wild eggs or chicks for translocation. Chicks
could be hand-reared using protocols refined for FT and then released
via soft-release enclosures at one or more undisturbed off-shore
predator-safe sites where conspecifics and/or congenerics (common and/or
arctic and/or sandwich terns) breed.
The presence of free-living conspecifics and/or congenerics may be critical to success, as they could provide a natural “training service” for naïve ROSTEs—helping them learn essential behaviors such as where and how to forage and ultimately where to migrate through social learning and mimicry.
If founders are sourced as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population at the new site, for example, after 5-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and/or chick rearing for 30–50 eggs/chicks per annum.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledgling chicks.
Enclosures/ aviaries - Fully furnished RELEASE enclosures to house the desired number of releasees. - Special Care Aviaries
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field Workers for egg collection, chick care, and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5-10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: bring birds in from Europe would be
challenging
JQ: getting enough birds returning to release
sites to establish breeding colony.
KQ: Post-fledging parental care seems critical
and possibly insurmountable challenge for this long-distance migrant.
but i am not sure how NZ is approaching this problem with fairy tern in
terms of habitat suitability, i think feasibility is high. headstarting
could also be used to bolster existing site if the above challenge can
be overcome note that social attraction of terns to form new colonies is
known to work and could be considered for both black tern and
roseate
QP: I can’t see how this would work without
trapping birds on the nest which would be challenging.
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or chicks from wild birds breeding in England or Ireland. This
would have to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild
translocations of e.g. 20+ eggs/ chicks. Finding wild birds’ nests
should not be difficult as the species breeds in colonies e.g. on
Croquet Island in Northumberland. Challenge will include:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a Natural England (NE) licence to collect eggs or chicks. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities for egg incubation and chick hand-rearing and soft release enclosures at the release site.
Staffing Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Cost Comment
BH: birds would need to be head started which
will require hand rearing facilities and staff
KQ: Depends a lot on what the goal is. a simple
headstarting operation quite cheap, but establishing birds in new sites
not so much habitat management/restoration will be fairly cheap because
there’s not very much that can be done!
QP: Depends on level of habitat management-
predator control, wardens etc needed
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£421K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, rearing-for release 20-50 roseate terns from wild collected eggs or chicks.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for years 0, then 0.25 years 1-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-6). Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for year 0, then 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.3 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.4 FTE for year 1, then 0.3 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£291K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£130K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: maintaining adult birds for ex-situ breeding
would not be possible. head starting is the only option
TB: I believe roseate terns (ROSTEs) are
unlikely to thrive in a captive setting - particularly within an ex situ
breeding programme where success would be defined as producing enough
offspring to make a release programme feasible (i.e. 20-50 young
produced annually for 5+ years).
To maintain birds in good health, they would require large, predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds of prey), with shelter and heating during winter. Even with these provisions, the species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term captive success would be challenging.
In contrast, a wild-to-wild (W2W) translocation approach appears far more promising. This methodology has been successfully developed in New Zealand for the fairy tern (FT) and could be adapted for ROSTEs. The increasingly productive breeding colony on Croquet Island in Northumberland could serve as a source of wild eggs or chicks for translocation. Chicks could be hand-reared using protocols refined for FT and then released via soft-release enclosures at one or more undisturbed offshore islands where conspecifics and/or congenerics (common terns and/or arctic terns and/or sandwich terns) breed.
The presence of free-living conspecifics and/or congenerics may be critical to success, as these could provide a natural “training service” for naïve ROSTEs—helping them learn essential behaviors such as where and how to forage and ultimately where to migrate through social learning and mimicry.
Challenges
BW: Terns do not thrive in captivity, being
social colony nesters and sensitive to disturbance
KQ: High uncertainty but my understanding is
that this could probably be done with very expensive and extensive
facilities
LW: Creating tern habitat in enclosure that
would lead to successful breeding. Very hard to do. No known birds in
captivity
QP: Post fledging parental care. Migratory
pathways. Is a challenging family to do captive rearing with, and long
term success with this group is rare or non existent
TB: I do not think roseate terns (ROSTEs) will
thrive and become ‘breeders’ in an ex situ programme, to the extent
needed for a successful reintroduction programme. Captive ROSTEs would
require large, predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds
of prey), with shelter and heating during winter. Even with these
provisions, the species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term
captive success would be challenging.
Cost Comment
BH: if enough resourced were provided it may be
possible but low chance of success
KQ: very expensive facilities needed
SN: as there is no ex-situ population nor stable
potential wild source populations, it is not realistic to cost this
TB: No details presented, as, at this point, I
believe this is a non-starter.
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: young birds released into predator proof
open topped pen from which they can fledge out of.
TB: I believe roseate terns (ROSTEs) are
unlikely to thrive in a captive setting - particularly within an ex situ
breeding programme where success would be defined as producing enough
offspring to make a release programme feasible (i.e. 20-50 young
produced annually for 5+ years).
To maintain birds in good health, ROSTEs would require large, predator-proof aviaries (double-netted to exclude birds of prey), with shelter and heating during winter. Even with these provisions, the species’ ecology and behavior suggest that long-term captive success would be challenging.
Challenges
BH: limiting factor mitigated - Avian
influenza.
BW: Ex- situ population not feasible to produce
strong birds suitable for release into wild
KQ: similar considerations to wild-wild. very
difficult, but need to know more about NZ fairy terns.
QP: Long time to mature to breeding, so will
take a while to succeed. Would need to be used in combination with other
social methods. Training for how to feed. Predator control and
wardening
TB: Key Activities
Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable recipient habitats with adequate resources.
Translocation Operations Transport, and release birds using best-practice protocols e.g. those for fairy tern in NZ.
Habitat Enhancement Maintenance of undisturbed islands on offshore islands with breeding conspecifics and/or congenerics (common and/or arctic and/or arctic terns).
Monitoring and Research Leg ringing and or telemetry devices for tracking. Monitoring to assess annual breeding success.
Community Engagement Collaboration with landowners and stakeholders to ensure long-term support will be key to securing suitable habitat.
Licensing and Permissions Release:
- Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE.
- Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities (i.e. soft-release enclosures).
- Staffing
- Aviculturists and fieldworkers to feed fledglings at release site and for post-release monitoring plus veterinarians.
Cost Comment
BH: same process as Wild to Wilt
translocation
KQ: Depends a lot on what the goal is. a simple
headstarting operation quite cheap, but establishing birds in new sites
not so much habitat management/restoration will be fairly cheap because
there’s not very much that can be done!
assumes ex situ costed separately
TB: No details presented, as, at this point, I
believe this is a non-starter.
Aggregated answers
Eurasian golden oriole
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: Bird could be sourced from zoos and
rehabilitation centres
HB: Widespread within continental Europe. Scale
of wild take relative to size of donor population unlikely to be
limiting.
JQ: fairly widespread across Europe so assume
source can be found
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: ~13.4–22.5
million mature individuals.
TOP 3 countries: Poland (~1.5M), Germany (~1.2M), France (~1M)
XQ: Common in Europe
YG: Based on information provided on current
captive population. Presumably large natural donor population.
YQ: EAZA Zoo - not many at the moment, but more
could be obtained in the future. Private holders Large, stable wild
population
Challenges
BH: importing birds from Europe into the UK is
difficult and expensive.
BW: Finding a source population on the correct
flyway Research into nesting populations - finding enough nests
Acquiring licenses and developing partnerships with European
Environmental agencies for wild take of eggs or juvenile birds
Exacting protocols for transfer and captive management for success in
gaining large enough population
HB: Securing permissions could still be
problematic - even if donor populations exist that would not be impacted
by likely scale of necessary wild take. Avoiding localised impact could
be difficult - particularly if considering wild to wild rather than
captive breeding (although highly unlikely this would be
considered).
JQ: accessing nests may be a problem as the hang
from ends of thin branches
KQ: import from outside the UK need to be birds
from close enough source pop that their migration instincts are
appropriate I presume (?) relatively low density species therefore
moderately high fieldwork effort to find birds. Nests are high up on
thin branches - challenging
LW: Two main things- firstly not to reduce an
established population significantly when removing donors. Secondly,
finding birds which have not yet habituated to a migratory
route/climate. Younger birds most likely more successful?
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. Finding wild
birds’ nests and setting up incubation and rearing facility in country
of origin will be a challenge as well as:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for golden orioles. Selection should consider habitat quality and its long-term viability.
Translocation Operations Collection, transport, and release of birds must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other passerines reintroductions overseas (research needed to elucidate what ‘works’). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Manage wet woodland habitat to meet the ecological needs of orioles.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings and/or telemetry devices to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival (return rates), dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for woodland habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
YG: Presumably genetic health.
YQ: Licenses to take wild caught individuals,
eggs etc…
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: birds would need to be sourced from a
population with a compatible migration path
BW: Research into breeding sites Licensing for
catching donor birds and wild take in Europe Catching and transport
techniques of young Captive management/quarantine of birds for release
after transport Soft release aviaries at release Monitoring Health and,
disease risk management
HB: Finding active nests at a donor site, taking
well-grown chicks from the nest, transport to release site followed by a
period of captive-rearing and soft release.
SN: the most demographically and genetically
appropriate population should be the source population
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have
to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up
incubation and rearing facility in country of origin, pre-export, will
be a challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and release aviaries in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: importing freshly caught wild birds into the
UK from Europe will need special exceptions to current bird import
health certificates
BW: Feasibility in catching and transport
techniques Licensing for catching donor birds and wild take in Europe
Captive management/quarantine after transport Release techniques
Monitoring post release Health management, disease risk
HB: Incredibly difficult to find sufficient
chicks, necessary to meet the likely scale of any potential release
strategy. Transport and captive rearing, without imprinting and
impacting natural behaviour very challenging.
JQ: species has always been marginal in UK due
to climate and lack of extensive riverine forest one of their main
habitats. I is also a long distant migrant
KQ: Operation of releasing ‘fit’ birds into wild
may be reasonably straightforward. appropriate migration routes may be a
challenge enough birds released to create critical mass in newly
establishing population model of preferred habitat and scale at which it
would be required is relatively unclear. Recently used UK habitat are
not really typical and likely not optimal Prefer high woodland - this is
not quick to create if needs creating Early releases likely to be highly
experimental in terms of providing right habitat
KW: Disease Screening, the cause of decline is
still not established. How dependent would British birds be on
immigration from elsewhere in Europe? How similar is the habitat used by
Golden Orioles elsewhere in Europe to the last recorded populations in
East Anglia?
QP: Migration survivorship /natal fidelity
SN: habitat suitability/food resources - nest
sites. Although the species is adaptable and climate change could
naturally extend the species range north into GB
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: Answer is based on much uncertainty as to
habitat suitability and caterpillar food source etc…
Cost Comment
BH: Would require multiple translocations
KQ: NOTE: i am assuming a significant cost in
habitat creation and management. the actual translocation operation more
likely to be in the 1-2.5 million range assume 6 years work
LW: This I assume would be the “cheapest”
option- licenses needed, staff and transport. But much less
vetinary/avicultural input than breeding programmes which could take
years to establish viable donor birds. Despite this I still think it
would cost above 250K (though i do not know how much)
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£558K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including translocation of 25-50 eggs/ fledglings from source country for rearing for release
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.25 FTE for year 0, then 0.15 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0 and year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£410K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£148K
YQ: Is this cost supposed to cover the entire
duration of the project ?
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: specialist breeding aviaries and dedicated
and experienced staff
BW: A number of unrelated breeding pairs housed
in pairs in large flighted aviaries with soft netting and densely
planted areas for nesting. Additional aviaries for fledglings and then
young birds to be paired once mature Parent rearing or hand rearing late
stage facilities to adapt birds to captive setting Additional flights to
house birds before they reach breeding aged where they when they would
be paired Ringing/tagging individuals Carful genetic management of
pairings Dedicated experienced staff to manage the ex situ
population
HB: Beautiful bird family, so generic
avicultural requirements of old world orioles presumably reasonably well
understood (albeit not from a conservation perspective). Would need to
captive breed, rather than captive rear and release numerous wild-taken
clutches every year.
SN: there is a small ex-situ zoo population
which could be expanded.
TB: Assuming 30 Founders
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg Incubation and Chick Rearing (Overseas)
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 25 breeding pairs in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England.
- Field Workers for egg collection, chick care,( and post-release monitoring later).
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Current captive population isnt really big
enough. Acquisitions needed. EEP programme needed
Challenges
BH: Species is prone to stress and aggression.
Ex-situ breeding could be challenging at scale and would require
development of specialist best practice husbandry protocols which would
take time to achieve
BW: There are not many birds successfully
breeding in captivity - reserch into successes in Europe Establishing
good productive breeding pairs - captive productivity of genetically
diverse release population Aviary space and design Migratory
restlessness Founding population - number available and keeping them
unrelated. Fairly long lived, so depending on initial wild take, how to
source additional founders Dedicated management of the birds
HB: Developing a husbandry protocol. Building
breeding stock. Genetic diversity not just of breeding stock (where
pairings can be carefully manipulated) but likely genetic diversity of
subsequent wild pairings (that cannot be manipulated). Certain genes
might be over-represented in returning / surviving / recruiting birds
(certain pairs produce healthier / better chicks).
KQ: Cold tolerance in a British aviary (winters
in africa) Sufficient genetic variation Ability to get multiple pairs to
breed in close proximity Wild behaviours in captive-reared juvs
KW: Looking at existing data, relatively low %
(33%) of captive born individuals making up those in captivity. Does
this signify difficulty breeding in captivity?
QP: creating natal fidelity, birds learning
migratory passage
TB: Assumption that founders would be sourced as
eggs or fledglings from overseas. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting
up incubation and rearing facility in country of origin will be a
challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
YF: Limited husbandry knowledge available
Acquisition of founder stock Husbandry practices would need to be
developed May require large aviaries
YQ: Getting new blood Getting investment from
EAZA holders - although striking bird, so interest possible.
Cost Comment
BH: comparable to estimated red-backed shrike
project ex-situ costings
SN: a European Zoo population already exists and
could be the basis of a focussed ex-situ programme for the species
restoration
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£770K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, INCLUDING care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.5 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.25 years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.5 FTE for year 0, then 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.75 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£600K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£170K
YG: I have no experience of this.
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: as it’s a migratory species large numbers of
birds will need to be released each year to account for low returns.
Suggest maybe 100 birds needed for release each year
HB: Need to understand migratory behaviour. Need
to track individuals post-release. Need to have better understanding of
causes of decline / failed colonisation. Need to understand natal
dispersal. How many birds to release and at how many sites.
SN: Genetics and behavioural appropriateness
must be considered before releases occur. Suitable habitat and post
release monitoring must also be planned carefully. Consider the
likelihood of natural range expansion back into former habitat.
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg Incubation and Chick Rearing (Overseas) - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 25 breeding pairs in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England. - Field Workers for egg collection, chick care, and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Soft release Disease screening
Challenges
BH: Suitable habit at release sites - e.g. black
poplar
HB: Along with a release strategy informed by
dispersal, return rate, predidted survival and predicted productivity
there is a need to understand species’ requirements in a UK context. Why
do they appear to be more of a specialist in the UK (linked to stands of
black poplar in fenland) in contrast to their more catholic preferences
for the type of woodland habitat they occupy in other parts of their
European range. Need to not only understand this difference between the
behaviour of UK birds and continental birds, but why birds failed to
colonise / were lost from fenland. Would a reintroduction be based on
how birds used to behave in England historically, or what current donor
populations do?
KQ: Acclimation to wild / appropriate behaviours
in immediate post-release period Doubts about habitat
suitability/availability are same as for wild-to-wild
KW: Same issues as wild to wild, plus the
consideration of whether captive released birds would be genetically fit
enough / behaviourally suitable.
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
YG: As with wild to wile translocation.
Uncertainty over habitat suitability.
Cost Comment
BH: Comparable to cost of red-back shrike
release mythology estimates
KQ: this is assuming that the ex-situ programme
is costed separately and we are only here paying for the translocation
operation PLUS whatever habitat creation/management we need
SN: establishing expert rearing, release and
post release monitoring over multiple years is costly. Having a few
breeding centres involved could spread the risk and increase breeding
success
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£195K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, NOT including care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating in year 2 as 15–20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£155K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£40K
Aggregated answers
European serin
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: would most likely need to be sourced from
wild populations. Very few birds in zoos and unknown numbers in private
collections in Europe. Some birds could be sourced from captive
populations but not enough to establish a genetically diverse ex-situ
population.
HB: Both captive and wild finch populations
available
KW: Kept in captivity in institutions, as well
as private collections. Widespread in Europe.
LW: Millions of birds in Europe. Despite
decrease, widespread still and not fragmented so low risk of creating a
problem by taking individuals for a release. Also expected to be in
captivity.
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: 1.4–3.0 million
pairs.
TOP 3 countries: Czechia (400k–800k), France (250k–500k), Bosnia & Herzegovina (50k–80k*).
*Not clear if nos are of breeding individuals or breeding pairs.
YQ: Wild A few in EAZA, not viable, but
husbandry know-how exists though to bring more in. Several red-fronted
serin also kept in zoos Probably in private hands Potential to start an
EEP with above
Challenges
BH: sourcing wild donner sites and importing of
birds into the UK.
HB: If using captive stock, then need to genetic
work to ensure pure Serin / no hybridisation / no selection for
‘attractive’ finch colour morphs and genetically diverse. Potential
concerns around unknown genetic markers for migratory behaviour and
whether multiple generations in captivity might affect survival upon
release.
KQ: Common and non-threatened bird on near
continent
TB: I have little knowledge of finch captive
breeding, but know European serin (SERIN) have been bred successfully in
England beginning in the late 1890s.
I’ve learned form talking to other aviculturists that SERIN are easy to breed in captivity because they are 1/ Granivorous - their diet is simple - millet, canary seed, and soft food mixes that are widely available; 2/ Adapt well to aviary conditions and tolerate a range of temperatures; 3/ Will breed in cages or aviaries if provided with suitable nesting sites - they readily accept nest materials.
My preference is for founders to be sourced as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This challenges will be finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and rearing facility in country of origin, as well as:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for SERIN. Selection should consider habitat quality and its long-term viability - SERIN might thrive in mixed, wild-flora (seed rich) farmland mosaics where there is reduced pesticide use.
Translocation Operations Collection, transport, and release of birds must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other passerines reintroductions overseas (research needed to elucidate what ‘works’). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Mixed farmland mosaic habitat to meet the ecological needs of SERIN.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival (return rates), dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for woodland habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: not migratory of adult birds could be
translocated
BW: Finding and licensing the wild take of young
pre-fledged chicks from Europe transporting to Uk where the chicks could
be hand reared and released into the wild. Hand rearing however is a
challenge in canaries. Alternative to set up holding facilities,
catching young birds and transport to pre- release aviaries at release
site, to acclimatise, and release
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have
to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up
incubation and rearing facility in country of origin, pre-export, will
be a challenge as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and release aviaries in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: As a they are similar to cirl buntings in
terms of being small, seed-eating songbirds, many aspects of the cirl
bunting project could be applied ?
Challenges
BH: Sourcing enough birds to translocate to
establish a population.
JQ: Serin has always been a marginal breeder on
edge of range dependent of fortunes of population on the continent.
KQ: operational work to release birds in good
numbers should not be challenging. Similar birds have been successfully
reintroduced Some uncertainty about habitat in UK, since never common
here. Does it just need help establishing in numbers? or is there
something else? It is a common generalist on mainland europe
KW: As far as I can tell, no research conducted
on Serin the UK, and were only regular breeders for a few decades. Also
declining in Europe, so less immigration to UK? A lot of unknowns, do we
just not have enough birds influxing to start a population?
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YQ: BTO cites species as a potential colonist
only; main breeding range being southern and central Europe.
Migratory
Cost Comment
BH: staffing to capture birds and soft release
care. Multiple years of translocations likely to establish
population
KQ: very little habitat restoration/management
needed
KW: Includes disease screening
LW: Presume a bit cheaper than with larger or
more specialist species
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£418K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.3 FTE for year 0, then 0.25 for year 1, then 0.20 FTE for year 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.15 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.3 FTE for year 0, then 0.25 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.25 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£242K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£176K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: 30 to 50 pairs. One pair bird aviary. Likely
to be relatively easy to manage as other related finch species can be
kept successfully. An ex-situ breeding population did not work with cirl
bunting and serin may be similar.
BW: I would assume pairs kept in small aviaries
and parent reared. Held currently in captivity, so research and focus of
captive management potential
SN: if a suitable source population is found, a
relatively low cost facility could be established for this small
seedeater.
TB: SERIN have been kept and bred in captivity
in the UK and Europe by both zoological institutions and private
aviculturists for decades (though less so now than at the beginning of
the 20th Century). SERIN are generally considered easy to maintain and
breed in aviaries or cages.
The programme will require a “Programme Plan” defining the number of founders required and the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases.
Assuming 30-40 Founders
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and England) - Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 birds.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs in England. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
- Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
- Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England.
- Field workers for nest finding and post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Paignton ?
Challenges
BW: Captive management protocols being
established Disease risk management
KQ: Generally small seed-eaters straightforward
to keep in captivity
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go’ into an ex situ breeding programme will present challenges to
overcome.
YQ: Migratory
Cost Comment
BH: comparable to red-backed shrike estimated
costs
KW: Already fairly widespread in collections, so
lower cost than some of the others?
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£431K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.3 FTE for year 0, then 0.25 FTE for year 1-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0 & 1 then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.3 FTE for year 0 &1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£258K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£173K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: Use cirl bunting project as model. Releases
of young birds resulting in establishing a population of cirl buntings
in Cornwall.
BW: Release acclimatisation aviaries built at
release site, ongoing habitat management and monitoring of released
juveniles
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced from Europe as wild bird eggs, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 4-10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick rearing (Overseas and in England) - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or chicks/ fledglings.
Quarantine - Facilities in England to accommodate up to 50 eggs and hatchlings and/ or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs in England. - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians in both the source country and England. - Field workers for nest finding in source country, and post-release monitoring in England.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: As a they are similar to cirl buntings in
terms of being small, seed-eating songbirds, many aspects of the cirl
bunting project could be applied ?
Challenges
BH: habitat suitably. Always have been at the
edge of range
HB: Always edge of range - whilst we do not
fully understand autecology in an English context (so cannot necessarily
deliver suitable management) a warming climate could improve chances of
success.
KQ: same considerations as per wild-to-wild
KW: As far as I can tell, no research conducted
on Serin the UK, and were only regular breeders for a few decades. Also
declining in Europe, so less immigration to UK? A lot of unknowns, do we
just not have enough birds influxing to start a population?
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
YQ: Migratory Distribution has always been very
limited
Cost Comment
KW: Incudes disease screening cost. Cheaper than
live-to-live as already in collections.
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£208K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating from year 3 as 15-20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0, then 0.1 FTE for years 1-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£157K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£51K
Aggregated answers
Marsh warbler
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: Could source birds from those nesting in the
UK if they still do so. Otherwise would need to be wild sourced from
Europe. Not kept in captivity
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: 6.15–8.95
million pairs.
TOP 3 countries: Poland (~2M), Germany (~1.5M), France (~1M*).
*Not clear if nos are of breeding individuals or breeding pairs.
YQ: Large wild population (12 - 18 million
mature birds). even though data deficient
Challenges
BW: Finding nests and monitoring breeding
activity
KQ: extremely similar situation to savi’s
warbler
KW: Widespread in Europe, although if British
breeding birds need to be used then this would be significantly harder
given their low numbers.
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. Finding wild
birds’ nests and setting up incubation and rearing facility in country
of origin will be a challenge as will:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for marsh warbler (MARWA). Reintroduction site selection should be biased on habitat quality and its long-term viability i.e. where targeted habitat restoration/ creation and protection is possible. MARWAs require damp meadows with tall, rank herbaceous plants (nettles, meadowsweet, willowherb, hemp agrimony) and brambles and scattered shrubs/trees. MARWAs need vegetation structure i.e. sturdy stems (dead or alive) for nest support, often 30-70cm off the ground, with song posts (hawthorn, willow saplings) nearby located on edges of wetlands, ditches, wasteland, fertile disturbed ground or arable land - RARE habitat in England.
Translocation Operations Collection, transport, and release of birds must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other warbler reintroductions overseas (e.g. aquatic warbler in eastern Europe). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Manage wet scrubby habitat to meet the ecological needs of breeding MARWAs.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival (return rates), dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for woodland habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
YG: Feel this is on balance unlikely. Issues
around finding stock in Western Europe given it is not in collections
and where populations all under pressure. Can genetically suitable stock
be found?
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: Like Savi’s warbler would need to be head
started. Translocation of adult birds unlikely to succeed due to being
migratory.
BW: Locating and monitoring nests, taking chicks
into a local facility initially, hand rearing at later stage of rearing,
transport to UK before fledge to continue rearing. Transfer to release
site with dedicated aviaries for soft release
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have
to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up
incubation and rearing facility in country of origin, pre-export, will
be a challenge.
Sadly, my strong gut-feeling is it would not be possible to translocate marsh warblers from Europe (as wild-collected eggs) for hand-rearing and for SUCCESSFUL direct release of fledglings into England because of the ‘Animal Health’ import imposed by DEFRA - i.e. birds would have to be quarantined for 30+ days’, with quarantine beginning at the point the last egg is hatched in a sterile quarantine situation in England. Thus, birds would be raised and held in sterile conditions followed by an equally long (21-28 days) acclimatisation period in soft-release aviaries prior to release. This means the birds’ natural behaviour development will be compromised.
Other challenges (as for all species being imported from Europe) will be:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and release aviaries in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: finding a source population if no longer
breeding in the UK.
BW: Locating enough nests would be difficult.
Facilities in donor country would be required if it were possible to
find enough nests, transporting chicks before fledge, finding suitable
donor site and ongoing management
JQ: edge of range migrant with fluctuating
numbers in UK, much suitable habitat unused so would be difficult to get
enough returning individual to establish population.
KQ: very smiilar considerations as per Savi’s
Warbler
KW: Edge of range and unpredictable. Not sure
sure we understand reasons for decline in Britain given suitable habitat
remains? Also would birds just travel back to natal sites rather than
become established in Britain (unless using British donor stock)?
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YG: This feels quite unlikely to be successful
given the shift in climate space to the NE.
YQ: Migratory
Cost Comment
BH: would need to be head started birds so hand
rearing staff needed
KQ: moderately cheap avicultural operation, but
some degree of habitat restoration/management needed
KW: Including disease risk and trialling of
avicultural techniques
TB: COSTS SAME AS SAVI’S WARBLER.
This is a 6-year project (~£532K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.4 FTE for year 0 & 1, then 0.25 FTE for year 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.15 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.4 FTE for years 0, then 0.25 FTE for years 1-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.25 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£296K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£236K
YG: I think given likely challenges in finding
donor stock that this would be pretty expensive in comparison.
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: due to highly insectivorous diet it is
unlikely an ex-situ population could be established
BW: little evidence of successful captive
management, would not reccomend as conservation strategy
TB: Assuming 30-40 founders (for 15-20
pairs)
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced as wild bird eggs/ fledglings, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg incubation and chick rearing
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs of marsh warbler (MARWA). - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians. Field workers for nest finding in country of origin.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: development of husbandry protocols for a
species never maintained in captivity before
BW: Dietary needs, migratory restlessness
facilities to enable natural behaviour
KQ: Similar considerations as per Savi’s
KW: Unsure how readily species breeds in
captivity, as none in collections
TB: Assumption that founders are sourced as eggs
or fledglings from Europe, but could be UK. If from the UK, then
establishing a captive population would likely be more successful and
less expensive. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and
rearing facility will be a challenge, as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence from NE to collect. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities.
- Staffing
- Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest-finding and post-release monitoring.
Cost Comment
BH: would need a large number of pairs housed
separately. Cost of suitable live food would be high
TB: COSTS SAME AS SAVI’S WARBLER.
This is a 6-year project (~£470K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.4 FTE for year 0, then 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for year 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.4 FTE for year 0, then 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£282K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£188K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: would need to produce large numbers of birds
for release as migratory species
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced as wild bird eggs or fledglings, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick Rearing - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field workers for post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BW: Captive breeding to produce enough chicks
for release
KQ: very similar considerations as per Savi’s
warbler
KW: Similar challenges to live to live
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
Cost Comment
KQ: moderately cheap avicultural operation, but
some degree of habitat restoration/management needed
TB: COSTS SAME AS SAVI’S WARBLER.
This is a 6-year project (~£212K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating from year 3 as 15-20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£157K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£55K
Aggregated answers
Savi’s warbler
1. Source Population
Individual answers
Examples
BH: Could only be sourced from wild
populations
TB: WILD. Europe estimated pop: ~530,000–800,000
pairs.
TOP 3 countries: Poland (~100,000 pairs), Hungary (~80,000 pairs), Germany (~70,000 pairs).
YQ: Wild - 1.15 - 2.02 million mature birds None
in ZIMS, probably not in private collections
Challenges
BH: finding a donner site and importing birds to
the UK
BW: Steps to find a source population would be
unknown and challenging, location of enough nests to create a
genetically diverse new population
KQ: common non-threatened passerine in
e.g. parts of netherlands - shouldn’t be too difficult need to ensure
close enough geographically to have appropriate migration bureaucracy
for import from continental europe
KW: None in collections, but reasonably
widespread in Europe
SN: impact assessments must be considered before
selecting source population. Especially as populations becoming
increasingly fragmented due to habitat loss/specialism
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. Finding wild
birds’ nests (ESPECIALLY!) and setting up incubation and rearing
facility in country of origin will be a challenge as will:
Donor and Recipient Site Selection Identify suitable donor populations and recipient habitats that provide adequate resources and meet ecological requirements for Savi’s warbler (SAVWA). Selection should consider habitat quality and its long-term viability - SAVWAs breed in extensive, dense reedbeds with standing water, so vulnerable to reedbed loss. Reedbeds need targeted management: hydrology and sympathetic (i.e. zero) cutting during breeding season.
Translocation Operations Collection, transport, and release of birds must follow established best-practice protocols, such as those developed for other warbler reintroductions overseas (e.g. aquatic warbler in eastern Europe). Welfare, biosecurity, and stress minimisation will be critical throughout the process.
Habitat Enhancement Manage reedbeds to meet the ecological needs of breeding SAVIs.
Monitoring and Research Fit released individuals with leg rings to enable post-release tracking. Conduct annual monitoring to assess survival (return rates), dispersal, and breeding success, and adapt management based on findings.
Community Engagement Collaborate with landowners, local communities, and stakeholders to secure long-term support for woodland habitat management and species recovery objectives.
Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
Aggregated answers
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: unlikely to work with adult birds a
migratory. Could use hand reared birds but this would be difficult
BW: Locating and monitoring nests, taking chicks
into a local facility initially, hand rearing at later stage of rearing,
transport to UK before fledge to continue rearing. Transfer to release
site with dedicated aviaries for soft release
TB: My preference is for founders to be sourced
as eggs or fledglings from wild birds breeding overseas. This would have
to be done over multiple (5+) years for wild-to-wild translocations of
e.g. 20+ eggs/ fledglings. Finding wild Savi’s warbler (SAVWA) nests
will be ESPECIALLY challenging as they nest in dense reedbeds as will
setting up incubation and rearing facility in country of origin,
pre-export.
Sadly, my strong gut-feeling is it would not be possible to translocate SAVWAs from Europe (as wild-collected eggs) for hand-rearing and for SUCCESSFUL direct release of fledglings into England because of the ‘Animal Health’ import imposed by DEFRA - i.e. birds would have to be quarantined for 30+ days’, with quarantine beginning at the point the last egg is hatched in a sterile quarantine situation in England. Thus, birds would be raised and held in sterile conditions followed by an equally long (21-28 days) acclimatisation period in soft-release aviaries prior to release. This means the birds’ natural behaviour development will be compromised.
Other challenges (as for all species being imported from Europe) will be:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence to collect from the relevant government authority in the country of origin. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Import to England: - Acquisition of an import health certificate from DEFRA/APHA.
Quarantine Requirements: - Confirmation of UK quarantine requirements with DEFRA/APHA and ensuring full compliance.
Release in England: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from Natural England (NE). - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities in both the country of origin and in England e.g. rearing and release aviaries in England.
- Staffing
- Country of Origin: Field workers, aviculturists, and veterinarians.
- England: Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for post-release monitoring.
- Funding
- Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation, and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BW: Locating enough nests would be difficult.
Facilities in donor country would be required if it were possible to
find enough nests, transporting chicks before fledge, finding suitable
donor site
JQ: this species is on edge of range and numbers
returning to breed depend on weather conditions and fortunes of
continental populations. on the plus side the extent of reed bed has
increased in recent years.
KQ: operation of release is feasible - see
recent aquatic warbler work habitat suitability/availabilty: an abundant
bird where habitat is right. recipe reasonably well known. Not certain
whether it can be achieved and maintained in real-world conditions in
southern england (availability of water, quality of water, spatial
scale)
KW: Edge of range, is climate/habitat suitable
and birds just cannot recolonise by themselves? Or is habitat/climate
suitability still a limiting factor?
SN: connectivity of specialist
habitat/reedbeds
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a wild-to-wild’ translocation.
YQ: UK edge of their range Migratory
Cost Comment
BH: would need to be head started birds so hand
rearing staff needed
KQ: aviculture moderately cheap, but some
reasonably substantial level of habitat restoration/management may well
be needed
KW: Includes disease risk
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£532K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase.
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.4 FTE for year 0 & 1, then 0.25 FTE for year 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for years 0 & 1, then 0.15 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.4 FTE for years 0, then 0.25 FTE for years 1-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.25 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£296K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£236K
Aggregated answers
3a. Ex situ Programme
Individual answers
Description
BH: due to highly insectivorous diet it is
unlikely an ex-situ population could be established
BW: Success of Warbler species in captivity low,
and would not recommend
SN: potential to learn from model species eg:
bearded reedling?
TB: Assuming 30-40 founders (for 15-20
pairs)
If founders for an ex situ programme are sourced as wild bird eggs/ fledglings, the following requirements will apply:
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials
- Egg incubation and chick rearing
- Capacity to handle 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Appropriate transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and chicks.
Breeding Aviaries - Fully furnished aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs of Savi’s warbler (SAVWA). - Special care aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing
Project Management A dedicated project manager to oversee operations.
Specialist Roles Aviculturists and veterinarians. Field workers for nest finding in country of origin.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 5–10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
YQ: Potentially possible as a few reed warblers
in captivity? (Dresdon)
Challenges
BH: development of husbandry protocols for a
species never maintained in captivity before
BW: Little evidence of warbler species in
captivity being successful. Dietary needs, migratory restlessness and
facilities to enable natural behaviour
KQ: Precedent suggests perfectly feasible
KW: Unsure how readily species breeds in
captivity, as none in collections
TB: Assumption that founders are sourced as eggs
or fledglings from Europe, but could be UK. If from the UK, then
establishing a captive population would likely be more successful and
less expensive. Finding wild birds’ nests and setting up incubation and
rearing facility will be a challenge, as will:
- Licensing and Permissions
Collection from the Wild: - Obtaining a licence from NE to collect. - Securing landowner permission for collection activities.
Release: - Determining whether a licence to release is required from NE. - Obtaining landowner permission for release on the designated property.
- Aviculture Infrastructure
- Establishing and maintaining appropriate aviculture facilities.
- Staffing
- Aviculturists, veterinarians, and field workers for nest-finding and post-release monitoring.
Cost Comment
BH: would need a large number of pairs housed
separately. Cost of suitable live food would be high
KW: if none have been in captivity, trialling
avicultural techniques may add extra cost
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£470K) with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, including care of 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2-5 (4 years).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.4 FTE for year 0, then 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.25 FTE for years 2-5. Veterinary Officer, 0.2 FTE for year 0, then 0.5 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.4 FTE for year 0, then 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 FTE for years 2-5. Aviculturists (x4), 0.3 FTE for year 1, then 0.2 for years 2-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£282K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities, equipment, and materials required for incubation, rearing, quarantine, and aviary maintenance.
Estimated Cost: ~£188K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
Individual answers
Description
BH: would need to produce large numbers of birds
for release as migratory species
BW: If successful captive breeding occurs,
chicks parent reared initially, or taken before fledge and finished by
hand rearing. Transferred to release aviaries for soft release of
juvenile birds.
TB: If founders for an ex situ programme are
sourced as wild bird eggs or fledglings, the following requirements will
apply:
Project Plan - Define the number of founders required. - Determine the number of individuals to be released to establish a self-sustaining population in England after, for example, 10 years of releases. - Identify staffing requirements to achieve these targets.
Facilities, Equipment, and Materials - Egg incubation and chick Rearing - Capacity for 30–50 eggs/chicks.
Transport - Suitable transport boxes and vehicles for safe movement of eggs and/or fledglings.
Aviaries - Fully furnished BREEDING aviaries to house up to 15-20 breeding pairs in England. - Special Care Aviaries - Dedicated spaces for sick or aggressive birds. - Fully furnished RELEASE aviaries.
Animal Feed - Reliable supply of species-appropriate diets.
Biosecurity Equipment - All necessary materials to maintain strict biosecurity standards.
Staffing Project Management - A dedicated project manager. Specialist Roles - Aviculturists and veterinarians. - Field workers for post-release monitoring.
Duration - All infrastructure and staffing must be maintained for 10 years.
Funding - Sufficient funding to cover all aspects of the translocation and post-release monitoring for the entire duration of the programme.
Challenges
BH: producing enough birds for viable releases
is unlikely
BW: Breeding enough birds in captivity
unlikely
KW: Lower confidence, due to combined unknowns
about ecological feasibility, as well as how well species breeds in
captivity
SN: success would be very dependent upon water
and reed management
TB: All of the above - i.e. everything that
would ‘go into a captive-to-wild’ translocation programme.
YQ: Migratory UK edge of their range
Cost Comment
KQ: aviculture moderately cheap, but some
reasonably substantial level of habitat restoration/management may well
be needed Have assumed ex situ costs are separate and not included
here
KW: Disease screening, plus avicultural
trialling
TB: This is a 6-year project (~£212K), with:
Year 0: Start-up phase. Years 1–5: Delivery phase, 15-20 pairs established in captivity during Year 1 and breeding from year 2, accelerating from year 3 as 15-20 captive pairs begin to breed (i.e. 4 years of breeding for release).
Major Cost Components Staffing Project Manager (PM), 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Veterinary Officer, 0.05 FTE for year 0 & year 1, then 0.1 FTE for years 2-5. Lead Aviculturist, 0.1 FTE for all 6 years (years 0-5). Aviculturists (x4), 0.1 FTE for years 1-5.
Estimated Total Staffing Cost: ~£157K
Infrastructure and running costs Facilities set-up and maintenance, equipment, materials etc.
Estimated Cost: ~£55K
YQ: Cost very much dependent on number of
holders and already established infrastructure
Aggregated answers
Aggregated Results
Aggregated plots combine all expert responses into a single distribution. Each expert’s contribution is weighted by their self-reported confidence, so higher-confidence judgements have greater influence. The resulting bars represent a collective belief about the most plausible category for each step. The color scale represents the average confidence across experts for that question
1. Source Population
2. Wild-to-Wild Translocation
3a. Ex situ Programme
3b. Captive-to-Wild Translocation
