2006 - The Year of the Second Nest

Male chough looking for food - A J Hales

The best news - and the best kept secret - for the chough in 2006, is the success of a second nest in Cornwall. The nest site has been secretly monitored, and the adult birds produced three young. Click on the links for more details.

The prospect of a third pair was dashed in April with the loss of a female bird in West Cornwall. The bird was found on the golf course at St Just. The pair of choughs had been observed establishing a territory, along with bonding and courtship displays. However, it is most unlkely that the birds would have produced chicks this year, but may have gone on to do so in the future.

Other headlines:

• The birds on the Lizard have once again had five chicks, and all are doing well.

• At Paradise Park, the new breeding method has also added to our potential for releasing birds.

• Two youngsters from previous clutches of the Lizard birds have taken up residence in West Cornwall.

This has been a great year for the chough in Cornwall, an establishing population now becoming more of a reality than a dream.

There are still many issues to resolve, including the differences in approaches of the two projects operating in the area. At a meeting in February, it was clear that the Cornish Chough Project is still opposed to any further bird releases by Operation Chough, leaving the future of the chough in Cornwall down to interbreeding of closely related birds.

Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary, Hayle Cornwall TR27 4HB, UK
www.paradisepark.org.uk