Rare chicks have hatched from eggs rescued from fields where severe flooding is happening increasingly often.

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) said the black-tailed godwits have struggled to find suitable nest sites this year and without human intervention their critically low numbers would fall further.

The chicks, which can walk and feed themselves just hours after hatching, will be looked after by staff and released back into the wild near WWT Welney in Norfolk.

Eastern Daily Press: There are fewer than 50 pairs of British black-tailed godwits left in the wildThere are fewer than 50 pairs of British black-tailed godwits left in the wild (Image: Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)/PA)

Each bird will be ringed and named and stay in care for up to a month, until they can fly, to boost their chances of survival in the wild.

There are fewer than 50 pairs of British black-tailed godwits left in the wild, according to the WWT, and they rely on a handful of wetland sites to breed.

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The eggs were collected from the Nene and Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, from nearby arable fields and from specially constructed “lifeboat” wetlands near the Ouse Washes.

The “lifeboat sites”, managed by the WWT and RSPB, are designed to be healthy wetland habitats, accessible even when the surrounding area is flooded, giving birds somewhere suitable to nest.

Eastern Daily Press: The eggs were collected from the Nene and Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire and NorfolkThe eggs were collected from the Nene and Ouse Washes in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk (Image: Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT)/PA)

William Costa, project manager and lead aviculturist at WWT, said: “Without ongoing efforts to restore wetlands around the Fens there would probably be no black-tailed godwit chicks fledging in the UK this year.

“This rescued generation of black-tailed godwits will be crucial to helping the species remain as a breeding bird in the UK.

“By releasing a minimum of 20 of them this year and establishing the world’s first captive breeding population, we will be giving this subspecies the lifeline it needs to survive as our wetland restoration work ramps up around the UK.”

Partners including Natural England, the Environment Agency, WWT and the RSPB are working together to maintain and improve breeding sites.