Nicky Hiscock holds a tiny spoon-billed sandpiper the first to be born in Britain. The world's rarest birds have hatched in Britain for the first time - after being hatched in captivity in a bid to save them from imminent extinction. British ornithologists previously spent weeks carefully taking 13 spoon-billed sandpiper eggs from their nesting ground in the Chukotka province of Russia. The eggs were hatched in a specially designed facility in the country before spending a week being flown to the UK. Experts at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) at Slimbridge, Glos., carefully nurtured the birds - and were delighted when they began to flourish at the centre.

The project is supported by WWT, RSPB, the UK Darwin Initiative, and SOS - Save our Species, with additional financial contributions and support from BirdLife International, the East-Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership, the Convention on Migratory Species, Heritage Expeditions, the Australasian Wader Study Group of Birds Australia, the BBC Wildlife Fund, the Mileage Company, the Olive Herbert Charitable Trust, the Oriental Bird Club, British Airways Communities & Conservation Scheme, Swarovski Optik and many generous individuals.