Crane chicks hatch

RIGHT: One of the newly hatched Common Crane chicks. Photo: Grahame Madge

Posted on: 28 Apr 2010

The first eight Common Crane chicks, brought from Germany as part of the Great Crane Project have successfully hatched at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. The birds are destined to be released into the wild later this year.

The original plan was to fly the eggs over but these had to be rapidly changed because of last weeks’ air travel crisis. WWT’s Head of Conservation Breeding, Nigel Jarrett, drove to Germany and back instead on an epic 17 hour road trip carefully collecting the 18 Common Crane eggs in portable incubators. Only hours after arriving the first chick hatched, followed by seven more.

Nigel said: “We knew we would be cutting it fine, but we didn’t know quite how close it was! It really was a privilege to bring back such an iconic bird to Britain, they are back where they belong almost like a long-lost friend. This is the start of a new generation of British birds and I can’t wait to see these newly hatched cranes gracing our skies this autumn.”

More chicks should hatch at WWT Slimbridge in the next few days and a second batch of eggs arriving at later this week by air, courtesy of Airbus and Lufthanza. Over the next couple of months the crane chicks will be taught how to forage for food, swim, socialize and protect themselves from predators – all valuable lessons to help them prepare for life in the wild.

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.

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__8990