The Great Crane Project
The Great Crane Project aims to re-establish a breeding population of cranes at a new wetland site in the UK, securing its future as a breeding species.
The project
The project is a partnership between WWT, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, the RSPB and supported by Jordans Cereals. A short-list of potential release sites is being drawn up, and techniques for rearing young cranes are being investigated. The precise location will be kept confidential during the early stages of the programme, as cranes are sensitive to disturbance. Any programme would conform to agreed IUCN / Species Survival Commission guidelines for re-introduction projects.
The project will draw on the experience of the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin, which has been successful in re-introducing Whooping Cranes to the wild in the USA. The earliest that releases could take place in Britain would be 2009, with preparatory work to continue during 2007 and 2008.
Background
This large impressive bird was absent as a breeding species for nearly 400 years, before a small population re-colonised the Norfolk Broads – a former breeding site - in 1979. While successful breeding has taken place, the small Norfolk population of Common Cranes remains isolated and vulnerable.
Common Cranes were once widespread, but drainage of extensive areas of wetlands and over-hunting caused them to disappear as a breeding bird by the start of the 17th Century.
There is a long history of cranes in Britain; they feature on illustrated manuscripts, and appeared on the menu for Henry III’s Christmas feast at York in 1251. They occur widely in Europe, where populations have suffered historically from loss of wetland habitats, but are becoming adapted to breeding in agricultural areas and are now increasing in some areas, such as eastern Germany. Small numbers visit eastern and southern England each year on passage.