Carl Sagan

The Nene goose, native of Hawaii was on the brink of extinction with only 30 birds left when their plight came to the attention of Peter Scott.

Our story starts back in the 1950s on Hawaii, with a little goose that was on the verge of extinction. Many years ago, living on a Hawaiian island didn’t involve having to deal with land predators, so the nene evolved as a friendly and inquisitive bird and it’s estimated that 25,000 used to inhabit the islands. But with the arrival of Europeans in 1778 and the introduction of predators like dogs, pigs and mongoose, life changed forever for the curious and trusting nene. Its numbers plummeted and by 1952 there were only 30 left.

Its plight captured the attention of WWT founder, Sir Peter Scott. He was determined not to let the species die out and brought a pair back to Slimbridge.

After a few teething problems (both birds turned out to be female) and the arrival of a gander, one of the greatest conservation success stories began.

In 1962, 35 birds born and raised at Slimbridge arrived in Hawaii to be released back into the wild. They were released across four sites on the main island and one site on Maui. Now, over fifty years since the birds were re-introduced, their numbers are above 2,000. In 2014 the first pair were spotted on a third island, having made their own way there.

It was Sir Peter Scott’s passion, determination and innovative thinking that enabled him to bring a bird back from the brink of extinction in the face of all odds.

Sir Peter Scott was the son of Antarctic explorer Captain Scott who, in his dying letter, urged Peter’s mother to “make the boy interested in natural history”.

Peter particularly loved the wild open marshes of Britain and the mysterious geese that visited from unknown shores. He learned to protect first the birds, and then their wetland habitats.

In 1946 he set up the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge as a centre for science and conservation. Uniquely at the time, he opened it to the public so that anyone could enjoy getting close to nature.

Peter and his family presented the BBC’s first live television wildlife programmes from his artist’s studio overlooking the lakes at Slimbridge, from where he brought a love for the British countryside into millions of homes.

As well as setting up WWT, he became an Olympic sailing medallist and a well-known painter and broadcaster. He created the IUCN red list which measures whether species are threatened or endangered. He was the founding chair of WWF – he even drew their famous panda logo.

WWT flourished during Peter’s life and has continued his life’s work since his death in 1989.

After a good night’s sleep, it was time to find out what was on offer for breakfast. Cold buffet options were on display but hot food was cooked to order. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my favourite breakfast options; tomatoes on toast, mushrooms on toast, egg on toast were listed as options on the menu rather than me having to pick the items from the full English breakfast choice.

The weather was perfect (hot and sunny) for our planned visit to Slimbridge wetlands centre for Mr C’s birthday.

Slimbridge was every bit as good as I remembered it from my childhood visits. There is an abundance of birds to see and most of them were out on display rather than hiding. With the help of volunteers and local enthusiasts we were introduced to wildlife and fascinating conservation tales that we would not have discovered without their enthusiasm to share information.

Amongst other things we learned about how Peter Scott rescued the nēnē goose from the brink of extinction and were shown a large number of cranes congregating on the Severn estuary.  We didn’t see the advertised pelicans but enjoyed seeing all six species of flamingo.

Despite my declaration that I wouldn’t be buying anything from the shop, I came away with two books…

Back at the hotel we chilled out with a cup of tea in our room before a pre-dinner Prosecco on the hotel terrace. After dining we returned to the hotel terrace and watched the sun setting over the Gloucestershire countryside.

William Blake