Blue cranes have arrived at Martin Mere
We now have two Blue Cranes as an exhibit at Martin Mere. I am really excited about this as I am an aviculturalist at heart and this is the first time that any WWT Trust Centre has displayed Blue Cranes.
We have a male and female breeding pair and they are about nine years old. They were born in Suffolk with an expert crane breeder and we are really hopeful that they will breed at Martin Mere.
A little bit about the cranes:
Also known as the Stanley Crane and the Paradise Crane, it is the national bird of South Africa, with 99% of the population residing there. It is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, but is fairly small by the standards of the crane family. It is 100–120 cm tall and weighs from 4 to 6.2 kg. This crane is pale blue-gray in colour with a contrasting and very visual white crown. The birds can often be seen fluffing up the feathers on their head creating a distinctive cobra-like look.
