Bustard eggs rescued from harvester on Salisbury Plain

Great bustards were hunted to extinction in the UK in the 19th Century

Great bustard numbers are thriving in Wiltshire thanks to rescue efforts by a local conservationist group.

The Great Bustard Group has saved 13 eggs from a field that was to be harvested.

It sends the eggs for incubation at Cotswold Willdlife Park and then releases the chicks.

There are about 100 birds on Salisbury Plain due to the breeding project to re-introduce the birds previously hunted to extinction in the UK.

Great bustard chicks are hand reared and then released on Salisbury Plain

The birds died out in the wild in the UK in the 19th Century.

David Watters from the conservation group said: "There were a good number of eggs in a field that was to be harvested.

"The females stay on the eggs even as mowers approach them and can be killed. So, under license, we take the eggs.

"They're incubated by our partners at Cotswold Wildlife Park. As soon at they hatch they're back at our little base on Salisbury Plain and we start the process of rearing them.

"We try to make the release of hand-reared birds a soft and gentle process. They'll end up joining the rest of the wild bustards in the coming weeks."