Animal of the Week May 20, 2013 -- Congratulations! It's an egg!

c Kallerna

After several hundred years, this week's animal of the week, Grus grus (common crane), has laid it's first egg in the southwest of England. A tremendous success for the Great Crane Project, which has been re-introducing the birds since 2010, releasing chicks that have been hand-reared by people dressed as cranes.

Cranes are some of the largest birds to be found in the UK. At up to 120 cm (4 ft) tall, they stand head and beak above any heron, and with a wingspan of around two-and-a-half metres (8 ft), they match the white-tailed sea eagle. Copy in their shaggy tail of feathers and ear-splitting krrruuuhuu-krrrruuu trumpeting, and they are truly impressive birds. It's the bright red bald patch that makes me particularly fond of these birds (kindred spirits).

While not globally endangered (thousands upon thousands live in Europe and their stronghold Russia), the draining of wetlands and hunting led to the extinction of these magnificent birds from these shores. A few have naturally colonised the east of the country, with as many as 20 breeding pairs to be found in East Anglia and around. But the Great Crane Project was established to reintroduce cranes to the Somerset levels; so OK the breeding pair have nested at the carefully managed Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire where they were reared as chicks, but that was their choice to go "home".

Although this is eggciting news, hopes should not be raised too high for this years egg as birds do not usually breed successfully until they are five years old—and this pair is graduates of the 2010 release. However, just as failed nesting attempts for former AOTW great bustards pressaged future success, the same can be hoped for the west-country cranes.