This is a picture taken by Martin McGill of the first spoon-billed sandpiper chick that has hatched in captivity. It is an image that is sure to warm even the coldest heart and provides a clue as to the challenges we face in saving species from extinction.
It comes as the result of a joint initiative led by Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust involving a number of organisations (including the RSPB and the BTO) all working to save this critically endangered species.
The press release issued today says that "The species has dwindled to such low levels that it is feared that it could be extinct within a decade.
The bird is a migrant that travels 8,000 km along the East Asian-Australasian flyway each year from Russia to the Bay of Martaban, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. On that journey and during winter they have been reported from Japan, North Korea, the Republic of Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India.
The main reason for the long term decline in this species is thought to be the destruction of intertidal habitat on the vital stopover area of the Yellow Sea. The loss of this refuelling area is likely to have disastrous consequences for the species' migration.
Unsustainable levels of subsistence hunting, particularly on the wintering areas in Myanmar and Bangladesh, seem to be causing incredibly low survival among juveniles. It appears that very few young birds are recruiting into the breeding population, while the existing breeding pairs are ageing: this is a recipe for future extinction.
The international Spoon-billed sandpiper Task Force agreed that the two emergency actions needed to avert global extinction: to reduce the level of hunting mortality in the wintering grounds drastically, and to establish a captive breeding population as a safety net whilst also tackling intertidal habitat loss."
So this is the start of what may prove to be a lifeline for a species which would be a tragedy to lose from the wild. Many congratulations to the whole team involved for mounting such an impressive operation.