THE Great Bustard Group (GBG) has been honoured with the patronage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

The organisation was founded in 1997 to support the conservation of the Great Bustard and with the principal aim of re-establishing the bird in the UK.

The Prince of Wales has been interested in the project from the very start and has followed the developments closely.

He visited the project base on Salisbury Plain in 2017.

David Waters, founder and executive officer of the GBG added: “For the Great Bustard Group to be honoured in this way is both wonderful and humbling.

“The success of the project has only been possible through the support of so many, including his Royal Highness.”

The Great Bustard is the heaviest flying bird in the world, and can weigh up to 20kgs.

They became extinct in the UK in the 19th Century with ornithologists collecting many of the last individuals.

The last one killed on Salisbury Plain was in 1873.

The Great Bustard Group first released birds in 2004 and the population is now 100 individuals.