Rare and endangered chicks released into the wild in Norfolk

Some rare baby corncrakes have been set free at Welney in west Norfolk.

The species is endangered and is currently red-listed in the UK for urgent conservation action.

Corncrake's have suffered dramatic decline in recent years because of things like habitat loss and agricultural intensification.

The chicks had been looked after by staff at the nearby Pensthorpe Natural Park after being hatched from their breeding programme.

For over five years, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust has been striving to restore the lost species to Norfolk’s Wensum Valley.

Trial reintroductions in the East of England were first initiated in 2002 and the first captive-bred birds were released in the Nene Washes in 2004.

The trials then expanded to incorporate the Wensum Valley with reports of wild-bred birds returning and breeding in East Anglia for the first time in over 50 years.

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