Rare bird lured to Kent marshland to escape extreme heat

Bill Oddie visited the black-winged stilt in Spain 20 years ago

One of the UK's rarest birds is raising a family in Kent after escaping record temperatures further south, nature experts say.

Four black-winged stilt chicks have recently fledged in Worth Marshes, near Sandwich, after a pair of the birds arrived from Africa in the spring.

It is believed the species is flying further north as extreme weather conditions cause its natural habitat in countries like Spain to become too hot

"The wetland habitat is so incredibly important for them to breed," said Izzy Donovan, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) senior site manager at Dungeness and Worth Nature Reserves.

Black-winged stilts flourish in marshland, making Worth Marshes an ideal habitat for them

Ms Donovan said that the incredibly high temperatures in Spain were causing the birds' wetland to dry out.

"As the climate warming continues, we expect the range expansion to come further and further north,” she added.

The nature reserve has been especially prepared to welcome black-winged stilts, which wildlife presenter Bill Oddie named "one of the world's most elegant birds".

New water control structures have been put in that hold the water in the winter and control levels over spring and the summer.

"It's been a big, big change but it's produced some wonderful results," RSPB warden Vicki Peaple said.

Update 6 November 2023: The headline on this article was further amended to remove a reference to climate change and make clear the birds were flying north to escape high temperatures in Spain, as stated by the RSPB.