BA Better World Community Fund – Planet has provided £25,000 of match funding
Red-backed Shrike Recovery
United Kingdom
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Aim
Reverse the relentless decline of red-backed shrike through a captive breeding, rearing and reintroduction programme.
Red-backed shrikes are beautiful sparrow-sized birds that like to perch on the tops of bushes, fence posts and telephone wires. They are commonly known as “butcher birds” because they catch small creatures and impale them on sharp thorns or barbed wire. Dramatic declines have seen this species become almost extinct in the UK, mostly due to habitat destruction and the disappearance of insect populations they feed on. In recent years only 1-3 breeding pairs have been recorded in Britain.
Reversing the decline of red-backed shrikes.
To reverse the relentless decline of red-backed shrike through a captive breeding, rearing and reintroduction programme. This will be done through:
- Building four suitable aviaries for red-backed shrikes with features that mimic the natural environment to encourage them to pair and breed.
- Accommodating four pairs of red-backed shrikes into the new aviaries and providing appropriate husbandry to them.
- Catalysing the breeding and assisting with the rearing of chicks.
- Researching suitable release sites in the Southwest of England.
The breeding activities will take place in OC Aviary in Staffordshire and Rewilding Coombeshead in Broadwoodwiger in Devon, and the releases will be in Somerset (Exmoor and Greensand Ridge).
This preliminary programme will set the groundwork for scaling up the red-backed shrike breeding programme in Southwest England, allowing for larger and more widespread releases of this charismatic species in future years.
This project is supported by Wilder Selwood, a branch of Conservation Collective, a charity registered in England & Wales with number 1185925. By contributing to this project, you are making a donation to Conservation Collective, and the funds will be restricted for this purpose.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 12th February 2027 at 11:59pm