Crane re-introduction project’s best breeding female bird found shot dead

Media release FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

The body of a female crane released as part of the Great Crane Project five years ago has been found shot dead. 

The bird, nicknamed Swampy, was found dead in a maize field, near Ilchester, by a Somerset farmer recently. The crane’s body was handed to the Great Crane Project team and a subsequent post-mortem examination identified four round metal objects identified as gun shot. The most likely cause of death was shooting, the post-mortem examination concluded. 

Because cranes are such large birds it is highly unusual for them to be shot. Details of the incident have been reported to Avon and Somerset Police. The bird was given the nickname Swampy because the egg she hatched from had been collected from a particularly treacherous and foul-smelling swamp in Germany. 

Damon Bridge, who manages the Great Crane Project, said: “This is tragic and upsetting and what is particularly galling is that Swampy was the project’s best breeding female, having successfully raised two chicks in Somerset in 2015, and another this year. “She would have been highly likely to go on and make more successful breeding attempts. “Her mate Alexander has been seen continuing to raise their 2016 chick. 

Alexander is likely to find a new mate for the 2017 breeding season but whether the new pair will go on to have the success Alexander and Swampy did remains to be seen.” 

The Great Crane Project team and police are working to raise awareness of the presence of cranes with the shooting community in Somerset, and the bird’s legal status. Cranes cannot be legally shot in the UK and the RSPB is offering a £1,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction. 

Anybody with information should contact Avon and Somerset Police quoting crime reference number 5216228321 

Ends

For further information, images, or to arrange an interview, please contact: Chris Baker, RSPB Communications Officer, 01392 453299 / 07701 050010

Notes: The Great Crane Project is a partnership between the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, the RSPB and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, with major funding from the Viridor Credits Environmental Company. The aim is to restore healthy populations of wild cranes throughout the UK, so people can once again experience these beautiful birds.

Chris Baker Communications Officer Tel: 01392 453299 Mobile: 07701 050010 South West Regional Office, 4th Floor (North Block), Broadwalk House, Southernhay West, Exeter, Devon, EX1 1TS

Rare cranes breed in Wales for the first time in 400 years

 11:31, 5 Oct 2016

Updated 11:32, 5 Oct 2016

By Chris Kelsey

 

The birds nested on the Gwent Levels this year successfully rearing a single chick which flew for the first time in August.

The birds nested on the Gwent Levels this year, successfully rearing a single chick which flew for the first time in August.

 

The adult birds originate from the Great Crane Project reintroduction scheme which released 93 hand-reared cranes between 2010 and 2014 on the RSPB West Sedgemoor Reserve in Somerset.

Damon Bridge, RSPB manager of the Great Crane Project, said: “These wonderful birds died out across the UK sometime in the 1600s, having been a favourite of the medieval dinner table. Seeing them spread back into their former haunts highlights the importance of protecting our wetlands.”

 

Perfect area

Cranes need very quiet, secluded, wet areas to breed, and an area of the Gwent Levels provided just the right mix of a secluded nest site and undisturbed, food-rich rearing habitat for the pair, which the RSPB says will almost certainly return again to breed next year.

Continued 

Last cranes released into British wild

Final set of birds in ambitious to reintroduction project has been released at a secret location in Somerset

theguardian.com, Thursday 7 August 2014 16.46 BST

The final set of cranes from an ambitious project to reintroduce the birds to Britain has been released at a secret location in Somerset.

Cranes used to be common throughout the country but were driven to extinction in the 16th century by over-hunting and the loss of wetlands.

Over the past five years, the Great Crane Project has raised five classes of young crane chicks and released almost 100 on to the Somerset Levels and moors.

The classes, including foraging and exercise, were taught by humans dressed in grey hooded overalls to prevent the young birds becoming accustomed to people.

Yesterday, 16 young cranes completed the last 10-week course of Crane School at Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge reserve in Gloucestershire.

They will join previous graduates and it is hoped the crane flock will start to grow naturally as the birds reach maturity and breed.

Continued ...

Bird nests in the RSPB’s Great Crane Project hit by flooding on the Somerset Levels

By WG_SMorgan | Posted: March 04, 2014

FLOODS on the Somerset Levels could prevent rare birds that have been reintroduced to the area from breeding.

The RSPB’s Great Crane Project runs a breeding ground near Langport and aims to restore healthy populations of wild common cranes throughout the UK.

Last year eggs were brought over from Germany and hatched on to the Levels.

But while the birds are able to access higher ground for safety and feeding, the floods could affect nesting.

Damon Bridge, project manager, said: “For many local people, businesses and farms the flooding has been very damaging indeed.

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