WATCH: Tallest bird in UK filmed in Norfolk countryside

PUBLISHED: 20:10 16 February 2020 | UPDATED: 11:41 17 February 2020

Clarissa Place

The tallest bird in the UK are the centre of a new wildlife video after making Norfolk their home more than 40 years ago.

Wildlife documentary maker Liam Smith, who runs the Shot of Wildlife YouTube channel, captured several species of animals while out in the county's countryside including the common crane.

The bird stands at more than four feet tall and has a wingspan of almost eight foot and are considered one of the tallest birds in the whole of Europe.

The flock of cranes, filmed between Acle and Billockby, first came to Norfolk in 1978 from mainland Europe.

Watch video and read on

Rare common cranes breed for first time at WWT Welney Wetland Centre

Chris Bishop

PUBLISHED: 10:46 19 April 2018 | UPDATED: 10:46 19 April 2018

Common cranes have bred for the first time at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s Welney Wetland Centre.

The rare birds arrived on March 21 and nested within sight of the reserve’s visitor centre.

At 4ft tall, the adults can easily be seen with binoculars. The pair have been seen sharing the responsibility of brooding the eggs, swapping over every couple of hours.

The chicks are only about 6ins tall (15cm) when they hatch, and are quickly able to walk, swim and run. Over the next 10 weeks both the parent birds will protect these precious chicks from predation and teach them how to find the food they need to grow.

Centre manager Leigh Marshall said: “The area of wetlands that the cranes have chosen to nest on is less than ten years old, and was previously arable farmland. The development of this habitat was specifically for wet springs, such as the one we have experienced this year, when the Ouse Washes are storing water to protect the surrounding land and communities.

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Common Crane breeding success at Lakenheath Fen RSPB

Posted on: 23 Aug 2016

For the second year running, two pairs of Common Cranes have successfully raised three chicks between them on a Suffolk RSPB reserve.

Common Crane is one of Britain's rarest breeding birds and with only around 25 pairs nesting in the country each year. Common Crane had been extirpated in Britain since the 1600s due to hunting and loss of habitat. They recolonised the Norfolk Broads in the 1970s and have gradually started breeding elsewhere in the country.

Two pairs of cranes arrived at Lakenheath Fen in 2007 and have nested on the reserve every year since then. In 2009, one of these pairs fledged the first chick to reach that stage in the Fens for over 400 years. Since then, the two pairs of cranes at Lakenheath Fen had reared a total of eight chicks until this year. Common Cranes live an average of 20-25 years, and find a mate and start to breed at between three and five years of age.

Staff and volunteers at Lakenheath Fen RSPB on the border of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, are over the moon that this scarce species, which is very shy and secretive during the breeding season, has had this success in front of an audience of commuters on the Abellio Greater Anglia train route between Norwich and Ely.


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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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Common crane breeding in Scotland for first time since 16th century

The return of common crane breeding in Scotland for the first time in more than 400 years has stunned conservationists.

Two chicks have been born in the north-east of the country in the last year, to the delight of the RSPB.

The birds, known for their tall stature and loud mating call, typically spend their summers in northern Europe and migrate to France and Spain for winter.

They were once common in the UK but became extinct in the 16th century, with the last recorded breeding in Norfolk in 1543. Crane was a popular royal meal in the Middle Ages but the birds died out, mainly because of hunting and loss of habitat.

Since the 1970s a group of the birds have re-established a small population in Norfolk with 17 pairs breeding, but the two chicks born in Scotland are the first confirmed in the country for hundreds of years.

A crane can grow to 1.3m tall (4.2ft) with a wingspan of 2.4m (7.8ft). Their elegant breeding displays, which include dancing and ruffling feathers, are popular with bird spotters.

Cranes have been seen in the last few years at RSPB's Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve, near Fraserburgh, while travelling back to their breeding spots in northern Europe.

The bird charity is not disclosing the exact location of the nest site to minimise the risk of disruption.

The species favours large wetland areas such as lowland peat bogs and feeds on small insects, plants and grains.

Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "We are stunned and delighted to see that common cranes have bred successfully in Scotland. These charming, elegant birds have a strong place in our myths and history and are a delight to see, particularly during the breeding season with their dancing displays.

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Rare UK crane egg given 24-hour guard - via Rebecca Lang

THE first common crane egg laid in western Britain for more than 400 years has been given a round-the-clock guard, conservationists say.

The nesting pair that produced the egg are part of the Great Crane Project, which has been rearing cranes in captivity since 2010 and reintroducing them to the Somerset Levels and Moors where they would have been found centuries ago.

The egg laid at a nest at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's (WWT) Slimbridge Wetland Centre is the first known to be laid by the project's cranes, which were hand-reared at the centre and the oldest of which only reached maturity this year.

Once widespread in Britain, the species was driven to extinction as a breeding bird by hunting and habitat loss by 1600, although a small population has been established in the Norfolk Broads since 1979.

A long lens video link has been set up to give visitors to the wetland centre and online a close-up view.

The cameras will also assist the guards to protect the egg against egg collectors.

Egg collecting has been illegal in the UK for almost 60 years but a few people still raid nests.

WWT's Nigel Jarrett said cranes were an iconic part of British wildlife that was all but lost for centuries.

"There is a long way to go before cranes become widespread again, but it is absolutely momentous to see this egg laid at Slimbridge," he said.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/rare-uk-crane-egg-given-24-hour-guard/story-e6frfkui-1226646522744#ixzz2Tq7P2yFK

Common crane first nesting attempt in southern England for more than 400 years

Cranes bred in the Fens in 2007.

Cranes nesting at Slimbridge
April 2013. Cranes bred in the Fens of East Anglia for the first time in 400 years in April 2007, at the RSPB's Lakenheath Fen nature reserve in Suffolk. A small number have been breeding the Norfolk Broads since 1979 but while they have bred there successfully, the population has remained isolated and vulnerable.

To secure the UK population, a decision was made to reintroduce the cranes to the Somerset Levels; eggs were brought from Germany, and hatched at WWT Slimbridge before being released onto the levels. Two of these birds have now returned to Slimbridge where they have mated and built a nest, right in front of one of the hides.

According to WWT "At three years of age, they are a young pair and might not be successful with their breeding efforts, but we're all keeping our fingers crossed."

"Whether they are successful or not, this is a unique chance to see these spectacular birds up close and exhibiting wild behaviours that very few people get the opportunity to see. Common cranes haven't bred in southern England for more than 400 years, which is why the Great Crane Project was set up to establish a wild group. "

"These are wild birds and it's their first attempt at breeding so there is a chance they might abandon their efforts. So if you're coming to see them please check our wildlife sightings page before setting off."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/cranes-slimbridge.html