Bird Garden Conservation Programmes

The Harewood Bird Garden has species involved in a number of Conservation Programmes. 

In-situ Conservation

Our links with several conservation groups, such as the World Owl Trust, Yorkshire Swan Rescue Centre, West Yorkshire Bat Group, World Pheasant Association, Yorkshire Red Kites, World Parrot Trust, Harrogate & Ripon Bee Keeping Society & Humboldt Penguin Wildcare Institute, Punta San Juan, mean we are also involved with several conservation projects and strategies around the world, as well as in the UK.

West Yorkshire Bat group & Natural England do walks and talks around Yorkshire, have meetings at Harewood and hold in-house training and on-site species identification of the several bat species found around Harewood.

Harrogate & Ripon Bee Keeping Society host one day introductory bee demonstrations and maintain an observation hive in the bird garden, with interpretation for native bee species.

We are raising awareness for the World Owl Trust through education craft activities and collecting funds to support the WOT with their field conservation projects in Britain for the UK’s native Owl species

For Yorkshire Swan Rescue we are public awareness about the plight of the great number of native Swans that are injured or are sick every year. We are highlighting the dangers Swans face around Yorkshire and raising funds for rescue and rehabilitation initiatives.

We are partners with St Louis Zoo and the Punto San Juan Humboldt Penguin Field Conservation Project and have been raising funds and awareness since 2006, with the aim to help build and protect a biological marine reserve in the areas that the Humboldt Penguins use.

Ex-situ Conservation

Around 30% of the species in the bird garden are part of a captive breeding programme. Another 25% of the species at Harewood are closely monitored by specialist groups so that the populations do not fall to a lower level; some of these are the Waldrapp Ibis, Bali Starling, Peacock Pheasants and Humboldt Penguin.

Because of hunting and habitat destruction, the Waldrapp Ibis is very rare in the wild. Thanks to a captive-breeding programme of which we are a part there are enough birds in captivity for them now to be released back into the wild. We are part of the Taxonomic Advisory Group and European Endangered Species Programme and in the past have sent birds reared at Harewood back to Egypt to be part of the release programme.

The Bali Starling population has been decimated to the point of extinction by the pet trade and habitat destruction. We are part of a breeding programme to raise the number of birds in captivity, a project that will hopefully lead to birds being released back into the wild.

The Humboldt Penguin is rare in the wild because of over-fishing, hunting and habitat destruction. Thanks to zoos, including Harewood, there is now healthy captive population.

The Mountain Peacock pheasant population has declined not only as a result of habitat destruction and hunting, but also because of the impact of newly introduced species. Our successful captive-breeding programme and reintroduction scheme has resulted in steadily increasing numbers of the birds. For the past few years, we have sent Harewood pheasents back to Malaysia to increase the number of breeding pairs in the release programme. We work with the World Pheasant Association (WPA) and are part of the European studbook breeding programme.