Bird keeper flies off to help save rare Sumatran bird

Monday 05 September 2016

A young bird keeper is flying off to Sumatra early next year after winning a much sought after conservation award.

Bertie Ferns (24) has won Durrell's 2016 Rumboll Travel Award, set up to help boost conservationist's careers.

Nine of Durrell's conservationists were up for the award but it was Bertie's plans to investigate the plight of the critically endangered Sumatran laughingthrush that stood out to the judges.

(picture credit: Andrew Owen)

He intends to visit Sumatra's bird markets to assess the impact on wild populations and to work on a rehabilitation and reintroduction project for the little birds whose numbers are rapidly declining.

Bertie said: "The Indonesian bird trade is threatening the populations in Indonesia, about 300 bird species are available to buy in the markets and it’s fairly unregulated despite many having conservation ratings and a lot of them are very rarely seen in the wild now.

(picture credit: Florian Richter)

"It’s quite difficult to say what’s going to be in a market at any one time, I’m going to go there and see what I can see. There’s a lot of stats that get blasted about and hopefully I’ll be able to open up some dialogue with stallholders.

"We've brought the Sumatran laughingthrush to Durrell in the last year and we've bred them in captivity this Summer. We've got a breeding pair and now we've had one offspring and we've got two males.

"We’ve had a lot of links to them in Sumatra  – I’m in contact with someone from the Czech Republic who does trial releases with them and I’m hoping to meet him and look at the habitat in the wild. and apply it to the aviaries here.

"I think it will be an invaluable experience to get out into 'the field' and witness first hand a very current issue that is such a threat to Indonesian wildlife and see the extent for myself. And overall I just feel privileged and really excited!"

Bertie has been working for Durrell for just over two years and said he finds bird husbandry fascinating.

He said: "Not many people get very excited by birds but I’ve definitely developed an appreciation for them."

The Rumboll Travel Award was set up by the former Chairman of Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust Robin Rumboll and his family in 2001. The Award aims to help enhance the staff member's careers in wildlife conservation.

Durrell's Head of Animal Collection Mark Bradshaw said: “We are very grateful to Robin Rumboll and his family for this continuing Travel Award. It's a fantastic initiative and during its 15 years has provided invaluable early training opportunities to young conservationists, many of whom have gone on to great things, both here at Durrell and further afield.”