Has also housed (by turn) Gorillas, Sumatran Orangutans, Fruit Bats. IMO this conversion is its best usage so far. In its original form it was called 'The Brian Parke Gorilla Complex' and was opened by the debonaire British filmstar David Niven.
The first 'soft release' destined choughs from Paradise Park were flown in during the snow storms in March(!), and introduced to the Aviary after a medical examination and fitting of radio trackers. The birds from Durrell joined them a week later, and so far it seems they've settled in well, despite being extremely wary and not 'coming down' for the first three weeks or so.
No releases have taken place yet, the keeper, Liz, is waiting on a break in the weather and for the birds to become accustomed to her and their surroundings. It's imminent - keep an eye on www.bridsontheedge.org. We have succeeded in breeding them on-site at the wildlife park too, although it's early days and chicks are extremely sensitive/fragile (they are very much off-show in our most sheltered area).
Many thanks for the info. I do look at that link everyso often- the March and April updates are really comprehensive and pretty much cover all the aspects I'm interested in!
Can I just check with you about the present set-up with Choughs in the Zoo though?
Is it; 1. two(breeding) pairs offshow- one or both pairs with chicks now.
2.Three younger/non-breeders in the display Aviary.
3.The tame 'George' receiving vet treatment.
Correct?
Also- just to get it completely clear, how many Choughs are now involved in the release project at Sorel- is it 7 birds - that is; 3 March arrivals from Hayle, and 4 existing ones from Jersey(previously from Hayle also?)- is that correct too?
Is it; 1. two(breeding) pairs offshow- one or both pairs with chicks now.
2.Three younger/non-breeders in the display Aviary.
3.The tame 'George' receiving vet treatment.
Yes, all correct. Technically 'Gianna' is an Italian chough, and a different subspecies, but three in display is currently correct. George is still at the vet centre, and quite a hit with the staff!
Also- just to get it completely clear, how many Choughs are now involved in the release project at Sorel- is it 7 birds - that is; 3 March arrivals from Hayle, and 4 existing ones from Jersey(previously from Hayle also?)- is that correct too?
Many thanks! I'm just really into Choughs and am following this breeding/release scheme with great interest. It is excellent that Paradise Park/Hayle have managed now to find an outlet for their breeding efforts- by contributing to the Jersey scheme!
I have now trawled back through this years' excellent and very informative postings on the Choughs on the ' BirdsontheEdge' site and also referenced the Paradise Park(Hayle) site again. From these sources I deduce that the Durrell Choughs, which (so far) have all come from Paradise Park, are as follows;
Received from Paradise Park/Hayle;
In 2010 - two pairs- oldest Choughs at Durrell- now form the two named 'breeding pairs' offshow- no young raised to date but possibly this year.
in 2011. six juveniles (bred 2011) 4 of these are now at Sorel, 2 remain in the Durrell display aviary.
in 2013 (March) three 2012-bred juveniles + the tame 'George'. The three juveniles are at the Sorel release site with four of the six 2011 birds, making 7 for potential first release.
The last chough is the Italian female 'Gianna' also in the display aviary. Presumably she is not from PP, like the others, do you know how was she acquired?
The start of the month was an exciting time for Durrell staff as a new addition to the chough cohort arrived all the way from Italy. Staff at the University of Turin’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine contacted Durrell in summer regarding a juvenile chough they had hospitalised and wanted to re-home. They believed, through her very tame nature, that she had been taken from the wild as a young chick and kept in captivity and for this reason they could not release her back into the wild. They had, however, heard about Durrell’s captive breeding programme for choughs and wondered if she could be of use to the re-introduction project whilst also gaining a better quality of life.
Gianna, named by the staff in Turin, arrived on the 1st of October and stayed in Les Noyers quarantine facilities until she had cleared her quarantine period. She weighed 260g upon arrival, slightly low for a female but expected after an overnight journey all the way from Italy. She was eating and drinking immediately and showed no signs of stress.
The Durrell Veterinary Department took blood samples and conducted a general health check during the first week in quarantine followed by weekly faecal screening. Once Gianna has cleared quarantine she will be moved to the display aviary to join the other choughs.
Figure 1: Gianna in quarantine
NOTE it is presumed that Gianna is a different subspecies (P. p.
erythrorhamphus) to the other birds (P. p. pyrrhocorax) and will not be allowed to breed with them. She will, however, be an invaluable asset to the flock.
That's the most info I can find, but if anything else turns up, I'll post it for you.
