Great Bustard Group

06/08/2026

Join us for the Great Bustard Group Open Weekend, Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th September at Enford Village Hall (Long Street, Enford, SN9 6DD).

Spend a fascinating day with the Great Bustard Group, take a guided trip in one of our Landrovers out onto Salisbury Plain to see the Bustards, and discover the story of one of Britain's most remarkable conservation successes.

Throughout the weekend we'll be hosting a fantastic free programme of talks from leading conservationists and wildlife experts, covering everything from Great Bustards and White Storks to White-tailed Eagles, Dark Skies and much more.
Please prebook visits here: https://www.store.greatbustard.org/booking-calendar/open-day-visits?referral=service_list_widget)

The weekend is generously sponsored by Downton Distillery.

Join Us for the Great Bustard Group Open Days – 12th & 13th September We are delighted to invite you to two days full of conservation, community, and of course […]

03/08/2026

Early this Spring, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mike Dilger and his son Zachery to see the magnificent Great Bustards, here on Salisbury Plain. The visit was filmed for The One Show, and we're delighted to say the feature will be broadcast tonight at 7:00 pm on BBC One.

Be sure to tune in and let us know what you think!

28/07/2026

One of the benefits of harvest time is that the Great Bustards become much easier to find. This field was only harvested yesterday, and today several birds were happily feeding and wandering across the stubble.

23/07/2026

At first glance, this looks like a female Great Bustard sitting in a field...

But she's not alone.

Hidden nearby is her one month old chick, perfectly camouflaged against the ground. (We've circled it to put you out of your misery!)

If you'd like to discover more about Great Bustards and see them yourself, we would be delighted to welcome you to our open weekend, on Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th of September, 9am - 4pm, at Enford Village Hall, Long Street, Enford (SN9 6DD).
Entry to the hall will be free, where there will be a full programme of talks through out the weekend about the project, Great Bustards and conservation on Salisbury Plain and further afield, as well as educational displays and activities.
We are also offering visits from the hall to the project site to view the Great Bustards. These will run throughout the day, lasting one hour and costing £15 per person. To ensure your place on a tour, please pre-book here https://www.store.greatbustard.org/service-page/open-day-visits?referral=service_list_widget

18/07/2026

With the males' displays now over for another year, the spotlight begins to shift to the females. We eagerly await the weeks ahead, when they begin to appear with their chicks. We've already enjoyed the briefest glimpse of the first chicks of the season, so here's hoping there will be many more to come. This beautiful female was photographed flying over the reserve recently.

23/06/2026

Great Bustards are well adapted to warm weather and have plenty of experience dealing with hot sunny conditions. During the hottest part of the day they tend to rest, reduce activity, and make use of the dry ground by dustbathing, while their diet also provides much of the moisture they need.

14/06/2026

For the first time, the Great Bustard Group has radio tagged a wild hatched chick as part of our ongoing efforts to better understand habitat use, movements and mortality in young great bustards.

Following the discovery and monitoring of the nest by the GBG team, and after careful consideration of the potential conservation benefits, we took the decision to fit a lightweight radio transmitter to the chick.

The tagging itself was carried out under licence by an experienced ringer from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, whose expertise enabled the transmitter to be fitted safely and efficiently. Since then, GBG have been tracking the bird and collecting data that will help improve future management and conservation of the Great Bustard.

05/06/2026

On this Wiltshire Day, we're especially proud to see this remarkable species representing the county.

The Great Bustard disappeared from the UK nearly 200 years ago, but today, thanks to the efforts of the Great Bustard Group and our many supporters, these spectacular birds can once again be seen across Wiltshire.

Happy Wiltshire Day from all of us at the Great Bustard Group!

02/06/2026

At first glance, this might not seem like the most amazing photograph but for us, it's incredibly exciting!

Across south Wiltshire, we have already identified more than 25 Great Bustard nests this season, with each one monitored closely. After a female leaves her nest, we carefully examine the site for clues about what has happened.

The large pieces of white membrane visible in this photo are one of the best indicators of a successful hatch. Encouragingly, we have continued to record an excellent hatch rate once again this year, giving us every reason to be optimistic about another successful breeding season.