The total above includes £481.50 Gift Aid.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.  I ran the Virgin London Marathon on April 22nd 2012, to raise money to support WWT's work to save the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

 I started running in 2008, and this was my first marathon.  It was an amazing (if painful) experience, running in a huge field with fantastic, supportive spectators lining the route.  I finished in 4:19:35.  Huge thanks to all my donors - your support made big difference to my motivation on the day, and, more importantly,will make a big difference to the sandpiper.

The "Spoony" is a small wading bird which is hurtling towards extinction perhaps faster than any other bird species, with probably fewer than 100 pairs remaining and the population in freefall. Without urgent action, it will probably be gone within a decade.

It is named for its unique bill, which it uses to sieve tiny animals from wet mudflats.  It breeds on the coastal tundra of remote north-eastern Russia, and migrates 8,000 km to its wintering grounds in tropical South and Southeast Asia.

Its catastrophic decline appears to be caused by trapping on the wintering grounds and the loss of the inter-tidal habitats on which it refuels during its long migration.

A collaborative effort is under way to bring this amazing little bird back from the brink of extinction.  In summer 2011 WWT led a successful expedition to the Russian Far East to collect eggs and rear chicks to establish a captive breeding population.  This will buy time for conservation action aimed at tackling the trapping and the habitat destruction to take effect before the wild population is lost completely.

The plan is to build up numbers in captivity, so that within a few years, birds can be released back into the wild to augment the remaining wild population while work to reduce hunting and habitat pressure is completed.  Any help you can give by donating through JustGiving is really important and will be greatly appreciated.

It's simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.  You can donate in pounds sterling from anywhere in the world by debit or credit card or via Paypal.

So please dig deep and donate now, and please spread the word to anyone else you think might like to help.

Thanks

Nigel Hewston