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Chip
Sex: Male
Hatch date: 22 May 2018
Release date: 19 Jun 2018
Release site: Lady Fen, WWT Welney
Latest sighting: WWT Welney, May 2020
Guardian: Rackham C of E Primary School - Willow Class & Hilgay Riverside Academy - Barn Owl Class
Photo credit: Bob Ellis/WWT
The beginning of his story...
Unable to nest on the Nene Washes due to flooding, Chip's parents nested on nearby farmland. His egg, caked in mud, was carefully cleaned and incubated at WWT Welney. He hatched on 22 May 2018.
Back to the wild...
Chip was released with his two sisters Rosti and Wedge, as part of the largest release of 2018: 21 birds released at Lady Fen, WWT Welney on 19 June. Chip and his sisters stuck together after release and were spotted by birdwatchers together at RSPB Titchwell Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast in August.
And his story continues...
August 2018. Chip is spotted on the north Norfolk coast with Rosti, Wedge and Chopstick (read the blog here).
July 2019. Chip becomes the first headstarted godwit to be seen in Africa after he is spotted at Djoudj National Park in Senegal.
April to May 2020. Chip is back at WWT Welney.
How was he named?
In 2018, the eggs collected from arable farmland were so muddy they resembled potatoes, and were affectionately called 'the potatoes' by our project aviculturists! In honour of this, we named one brood Chip, Rosti and Wedge, and another Maris, Desiree and Jersey.
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