A CONSERVATION charity is celebrating after hearing that one of their projects to aid endangered birds in the Avon Valley is to be extended.

Waders for Real, run by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust at Fordingbridge, has been trying to protect birds from predation on their nests which reduces already precarious species numbers.

The project involved establishing an environment to aid wader recovery, including removing old fence lines and willow scrub, re-profiling 3 km of ditches, digging 1.6 km of new ditches, creating more chick foraging habitat, and installing electric fences to deter mammal predators.

Now, says the trust, the extension means they can roll out the project to further key sites in the Avon Valley and enable more time for distribution of results.

To aid the roll-out, two new field assistants have been appointed. Ryan Burrell will be monitoring lapwing movements between the damp grassland of the Avon Valley and arable fields adjoining the valley, as well as measuring habitat improvements.

Jodie Case, a former volunteer at the Trust, will be implementing measures to reduce predation of wader nests and chicks on hotspot sites to see which are the most efficient.

Project officer Lizzie Grayshon said: "The extra year will enable the project to leave a better legacy.

“Bird numbers do not respond instantly to management changes and the extra time will better enable us to fully evaluate the most effective strategies for these nationally-important species," she said.

“If, as appears to be the case from our initial data, lapwings demonstrate flexibility in their choice of breeding site between years, we need to better understand which factors influence their decision to change site.”

To find out more information about the project, visit gwct.org.uk/wadersforreal