Red billed chough

Fairly sure that's 'Gianna', we received her as a rescue from Italy.

I remember this one was the only chough which didn´t fly away when I was trying to get some pictures, because the rest of them just flew to the top and it was impossible to get a shot.

Nice looking bird!

They've just had one escape from the pairs in breeding aviaries. I don't think they are very hopeful of getting him back either.

The Chough blog has been updated for April, but not May yet (they are very busy monitoring where the various Choughs are I believe.)

I am wondering whether the released Choughs are managing to feed themselves completely now, or are still relying to a certain extent on the supplementary feeding. I can't find a contact for the Chough team to ask direct.

Maybe RickJ can help here? Either with information or a contact?

Hiya, I sure can! The choughs are still getting supplementary feeding for now.

Pertinax, would you mind PMing me your email please?

R

Chough blog for May is up now and reports that 6 out of 8 birds in the release project are still doing well. The other two disappeared early on. No apparent recent sign of 'Arthur' the escaped bird from the Zoo either.

Four young have been successfully reared from the breeding pairs and presumably will join the release phase when ready.

Chough blog is almost right up to date now. Six new birds bred this year have arrived from Paradise Park in Cornwall, and are being quarantined in the release Aviary, alongside/with the four handraised young that Durrell raised themselves, and which have already had several successful outings from the Aviary up until the new birds arrived. This has temporarily stopped as they now have to undergo quarantine along with the new birds.

The six free-ranging adults seem to be doing well too. Sixteen birds(six older, ten of this year's) in total in the release part of the project now.

Jersey Choughs breed successfully.

From ther blog;

A pair of the released Choughs on Jersey's North Coast have successfully raised a chick to post-fledging stage. First breeding in the wild(or semi-wild?) on Jersey since circa 1920.

The handraised chick which was fostered to tame female 'Gianna' sadly died at the end of an operation to straighten a deformed leg bone. Another single chick has been handraised at the Park and since transferred to the release aviary on the coast. Another batch of parent-reared young birds are expected from Paradise Park in Cornwall.

Hi Pertinax!

'Dusty' was hatched and raised by his parents, unsupported, on the cliff-side. To my knowledge, she/he's never been into the aviary (I may be wrong). Not sure if he's 'wild', but he's pretty close.

It's really exciting, but at the same time, losing Gianna's little foster-chick on the operating table was a crushing blow to staff here. The project has certainly had its ups and downs.