How bird once extinct in UK battling back in North East

Record numbers of avocet, the bird which is the emblem of the RSPB, have arrived at WWT Washington as it continues recent resurgence

By Tony Henderson

05:00, 1 MAY 2019

It's a black and white success story – and it’s happening on the banks of the River Wear.

The avocet, a bird with distinctive black and white plumage, was once declared extinct in the UK.

The emblem of the RSPB, avocets returned to the RSPB’s Minsmere reserve in Suffolk in 1947, after an absence of more than 100 years, and have gradually advanced north.

The first pair of avocets to nest in the North East did so in 2006 at WWT Washington Wetland Centre on Wearside, raising one chick.

Between 2006 and 2015, avocets successfully raised a total of 54 chicks at WWT Washington.

Continued