TONY JACKSON explains how Somerset has been central to the resurgence of an eye catching bird.
A BIRD which vanished as a resident breeding species around 1600 as a result of wetland drainage and hunting, has now made a dramatic come-back... and Somerset has played a key role in its resurgence.
The common crane is a dramatic, eyecatching bird. About four feet tall, grey with an enormous wingspan of up to eight feet, similar in size to a sea-eagle, and a slender black and white neck with a red patch on the top and back of its head.
This amazing bird also has one of the loudest calls of all bird species and can be heard from a distance of three miles. A ground dwelling bird lacking a back toe with which to grip, it is unable to perch in trees.
The return of the cranes to this country began in the late 1970s and early 1980s when a small number of wild cranes appeared on the Norfolk Broads and bred for the first time in the early 1980s. The population grew very slowly, nests were protected, suitable habitats managed and, gradually, these wild cranes started breeding in other parts of East Anglia.
At this point a group of conservation organisations got together to consider re-introduction as a means of securing the future of the crane in the UK and the Somerset Levels and moors were chosen as a suitable release location. As a result the Great Crane Project partnership was established, comprising the RSPB, the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, a Norfolk-based organisation with a great deal of experience of crane rearing. The partners worked together to see if it would be feasible to supplement the small British population through re-introduction and in 2009 the team was joined by Viridor Credits Environmental Company who agreed to fund the project for six years.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2017-Ausgabe von Somerset Life.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 2017-Ausgabe von Somerset Life.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Up on the Down
Try this easy-to-follow Exmoor walk with SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE
Shop until you drop
It’s Somerset’s county town, it’s the place to go for the big shops, but Taunton is also home to a thriving independent scene, discovers CATHERINE COURTENAY
Creatures of the night
Have you ever had something swoop past your ear, almost unseen? You may have had a brief encounter with a bat, says BERNARD BALE
Bowled over
Now that we can return to skittle and bowling alleys - albeit with new rules BERNARD BALE reveals that the sport of bowling has many Somerset links
Trackway through time
In the Somerset Levels SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE discovers a place where our Neolithic heritage rubs shoulders with the present day
SAVING THE SPLENDOUR OF EXMOOR
The splendour of Exmoor National Park may appear timeless and untroubled, but a new book reveals the long and often bitter struggle conservationists faced to save the landscape from the twin threats of afforestation and the plough
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
Charity starts at home
How do we teach our children the importance of giving back?
Blooming brilliant
Will and Lauren Holley purchased a four-acre field in Somerset, converted it into a nursery, opened during lockdown and now their perennial plants are flying off the shelves. JULIE HARDING meets the go-getting couple
Age-old advice
Just become a grandparent for the first time? Perhaps you need a little guidance, so here are some top tips about how to embrace your new family role