Bustard receives Russian visitors (From Salisbury Journal)
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Bustard receives Russian visitors
8:29am Sunday 26th November 2006 in News
WILTSHIRE played host to a party of senior Russian officials for two weeks this month.
The delegation was involved with matters concerning the conservation of the Great Bustard, the licensing of the collection of eggs from destroyed nests and the export of chicks to Wiltshire.
The officials were able to see the Great Bustards that have already been released onto Salisbury Plain and spent a day with the Duke of Beaufort's hunt.
They also took part in falconry activities with staff at the Hawk Conservancy.
On November 12, they joined in the Remembrance Day parade in Salisbury and laid a wreath on the memorial to remember the Russian war dead, before attending a service at St Thomas Church.
David Waters, of the Great Bustard Group, believes this may be the first time that an official Russian delegation has taken part in Salisbury's Remembrance Day parade.
The end of their visit was marked with the Great Bustard Group dinner, at the museum of the Wiltshire Regiment.
The Russian visitors were welcomed by the High Sheriff of Wiltshire and the mayor of New Sarum, who were later presented with gifts from their guests' home city of Saratov, a major port on the Volga.
The new Wiltshire flag, which features a prominent image of a Great Bustard, was flown for the first time in Salisbury just outside the museum on the evening of the dinner.
