First avocet chicks for Northumberland - Eaten by a heron

Round the clock care failed to save them

June 2011: Delight has turned to devastation just days after two avocet chicks hatched their way into Northumberland's record books at the Wildlife Trust's Cresswell Pond reserve. 

Until now, the most northerly breeding site for avocets was the Washington Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, on the banks of the River Wear. This all changed with the arrival of two chicks at the end of the last month at Cresswell Pond - a first for the county. But then, with the chicks just a few days old, they were snatched by a heron - dashing hopes of Northumberland comeback.

Perilously-placed nest
The parents had been nesting on a sand spit on the pond's edge, so for the past three weeks staff at the wildlife charity have been holding their breath in case the heavy rain swept the perilously-placed nest away. To make matters worse, avocets usually nest in colonies for protection against predators, so the isolated Northumberland nest was very vulnerable.

A JCB machine was brought in to clear the pond's drainage channel to lessen the risk of flooding. But despite this, and a volunteer team guarding the chicks round the clock, nature could not be kept at bay. And late one afternoon, while they were still just a few days old, the chicks were snatched by a hungry heron - killing off Northumberland's treasured new residents.