Easter eggs to boost crane numbers in England
A clutch of very special Easter eggs arrived at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire this morning – 14 common crane eggs from Germany.
Some are hatching now and the rest are expected to hatch over the Easter weekend, making them some of the most significant eggs opened this Easter.
The chicks will be brought up at Slimbridge’s famous Crane School, from where they will graduate to the beautiful wetlands of the Somerset Moors and Levels.
There they will join the 18 fully grown cranes which were released there last August. The eggs were carefully transported back from Germany by The Great Crane Project team, including the cranes’ new ‘parents’ Roland Digby and Amy King, who took turns at the wheel on the epic road trip while the eggs rested in portable incubators in the back.
Amy said: “Spring is in the air and it’s exciting to be back at Slimbridge’s Crane School, having spent much of the winter monitoring last year’s birds on the Somerset Levels.
“Now we have the eggs back from Germany we’ll be dusting off the famous grey crane suits and preparing to teach this year’s birds how to survive in the wild.
“The first year has been such a success, with local people on the Somerset levels now regularly seeing and hearing the magnificent cranes calling and dancing as a flock, that we’re starting this year with renewed confidence.”
The next few days should see the crane chicks hatch at WWT Slimbridge and a second batch of eggs will arrive at Crane School next week.
Then over the next couple of months Roland and Amy will go on to teach their brood of crane chicks how to forage for food, swim, socialise and protect themselves from predators – all valuable lessons to help them prepare for life in the wild.
Martin Spray, WWT's Chief Executive said: “WWT’s conservation team have 65 years' of experience working with endangered birds and it’s inspiring that this Easter our expertise is helping reintroduce a species we lost 400 years ago.”
The cranes will be transferred to a temporary release enclosure on the Somerset Levels and Moors later this summer before they are released into the wild as part of the Great Crane Project – a partnership between WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, with major funding from Viridor Credits Environmental Company.
For the latest on the Slimbridge Crane School including Crane School Diary and details of talks for visitors visit WWT's Crane School pages.
You can help to support the reintroduction of cranes into the wild in the UK by donating to WWT's conservation breeding appeal.
Updated at 17:35 - Our first crane has hatched out of its egg. Video below:
