Earlier this year saw the first Great Bustard chicks hatch in the UK since 1832 marking a huge milestone in the reintroduction project on Salisbury Plain that began in 2004 by The Great Bustard Group. Although eggs have been laid in previous years these proved to be infertile so this years' chicks are a major breakthrough.

Whilst Britain's Great Bustards were gearing up for spring I spent early April in Extramadura in Spain where I endured three 15 hour sessions in a windy stone hide on the Serena hoping for a male bustard to strut his stuff in front of me. These birds cover huge distances and unlike black grouse that display in a very specific spot, Great Bustards roam over a vast open plain as they patrol their territories and try to woo a female. This was a first for me and I hadn't appreciated their huge size until I was lucky enough to have one standing 25m in front of me in beautiful evening light, the soft backlight highlighting the white 'moustache' of a regal-looking male.