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WiltshireWinterbourne HorsesDowns

Wiltshire Country

An amazing place for people Our work so far and for wildlife There is huge potential in Chalk In the last century has lost more Country for conservation and restoration than three quarters of its chalk on a scale. At our 305-hectare heritage. Half of what remains is in Downs nature reserve, Wiltshire. Typified by rolling arable fields we’re carrying out one of the largest and expanses of internationally-important chalk grassland re-creation projects. chalk grassland, Wiltshire Chalk Country Working with conservation partners is a unique and precious landscape. An such as Plantlife International, Butterfly incredible array of birds and other wildlife Conservation and Wiltshire Wildlife call this land home. Trust, we can sustainably manage chalk grassland and safeguard it against future Chalk is one of the richest threats such as climate change. for wildlife in the UK, supporting butterflies such as silver- We are working with private landowners spotted skippers and Adonis blues, and at Normanton Down, the birds like stone-curlews and corn buntings. Estate and other sites where the We want to see chalk downland thrive downland supports stone-curlews, brown long into the future. hares and marsh fritillary butterflies and Success for more, building close relationships for stone-curlews The and history of this the benefit of people and wildlife. On landscape is unique, with remnants of Plain and at Porton Down we’re Stone-curlews are elusive birds ancient civilisations and, more recently, working with the Defence Infrastructure with an eerie call. Active at dawn a military past having preserved some Organisation to ensure that wildlife here and dusk, their bright yellow eyes of the iconic landscape features we see continues to thrive. help them to locate food in the here today. dark. They prefer dry, open places Stone-curlews are our flagship species with stony ground or very short The Wiltshire Chalk Country vision and with Natural England, farmers and vegetation. In the UK they live in ambitiously aims to recreate the largest partner organisations we’re improving Wiltshire, around , network of chalk grassland sites in their prospects. Through the Great and in Breckland, . Sadly, north-west , redressing historic Bustard Reintroduction Project, we they have undergone long-term losses and re-linking habitats. This area are conserving essential habitats and decline and their numbers have provides us with arguably the best helping to bring back this magnificent, fallen due to habitat loss. We have opportunity in the UK, possibly even globally-threatened bird. As part of the been working closely with over Europe, to provide a high-quality network and World Heritage 250 farmers to provide advice and of chalk grassland. We’re working with Site committee and advisory forum, help create safe nesting places for farmers and landowners to restore we’re sharing knowledge and best these beautiful birds – a huge grassland, seeking to provide more practice on wildlife conservation, and achievement. Let’s keep up the opportunities for access and recreation, with the we are raising good work! promoting Wiltshire’s downland as a awareness of the rich diversity of wildlife destination for people to visit and enjoy. across the World Heritage Site. Pewsey !

Westbury Ludgershall ! Westbury ! Ludgershall TilsheadTilshead Tidworth ! Andover ! Warminster ! Andover Produced by RSPB CDMU © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. RSPB licence 100021787

Amesbury !

KEY main road Wilton ! Salisbury Futurescape area Wilton ! Salisbury Tisbury ! Tisbury Special Protection Area

Sources: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, USGS, Intermap, iPC, NRCAN, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri (Thailand), To mTom, 2012 Wiltshire Chalk “ We have worked with the RSPB for the last nine years to recreate chalk Country grassland on our farm. It has been exciting to see the area develop over this time, filling up with special plant species, which in turn have encouraged all sorts of birds and wildlife back into this area. It is and will continue to be a great adventure.” Rachel Hosier, Landowner, Normanton Down

What’s next? Get in touch By significantly increasing areas of chalk grassland, the We want to hear your ideas about how we can work together to Wiltshire Chalk Country Futurescape will not only benefit the make Wiltshire Chalk Country even better for people and wildlife: rich diversity of wildlife, but provide a special place for people to exercise, explore and relax in too. Wiltshire Conservation Great Bustard Project Officer Adviser So far, our initiatives in this area have been well received Philip Sheldrake Andrew Taylor and highly successful. But the hard work can’t stop there. T 01722 427230 T 07703 607586 We have plans to recreate, restore and link even more chalk grassland habitat, giving a home to specialist wildlife and Farmland Project RSPB South West Regional creating an even richer, more diverse countryside. Expanding Manager Office our range and building even more relationships with key Nick Tomalin T 01392 432691 partners will help us to achieve this aim and safeguard T 01722 427232 Keble House, Wiltshire Chalk Country long into the future. Southernhay Gardens, Wiltshire Reserves Manager EX1 1NT Patrick Cashman T 01980 629845

Futurescapes is the RSPB’s contribution to landscape-scale Natura 2000 – Europe’s Futurescapes is The RSPB is a member conservation throughout the UK. nature for you. We are generously supported of BirdLife International, working together across the by the EU Life+ a partnership of conservation The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a EU to safeguard Europe’s rich Communications organisations working to give registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland and diverse natural heritage Programme nature a home around the world for the benefit of all no. SC037654. Images: stone curlew by Chris Knights (rspb-images.com); Winterbourne Downs by Patrick Cashman. Maps produced by RSPB CDMU © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. RSPB licence 100021787. 020-1-1241-13-14