After 400 Years, Cranes Return to U.K.—Site Is Kept Secret

James Owen in England
for National Geographic News

March 16, 2004

Somewhere in the reedy wetlands of easternmost England, Britain's
tallest and perhaps rarest resident bird is making itself at home, more
than four centuries after being forced into exile.

But the exact location of the Eurasian, or common, crane (Grus grus) isn't a question those watching over the bird care to answer just yet—they'll wait until they feel the bird's future is secure.

The cranes first returned to eastern England in the early 1980s. The few ornithologists who knew about the birds' arrival didn't consider it a major event at the time, since cranes from continental Europe are occasionally blown astray during spring and fall migrations. But these particular cranes never went away.

In subsequent years the number of resident cranes has crept up to between 15 and 20. Experts believe there are currently three to four breeding pairs, representing the U.K.'s first resident colony since the 16th century.

"They are in an area of marshland that's fairly typical for the species," said Malcolm Ogilvie, secretary of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel of the U.K. "A single pair first tried to breed in 1981. Since then they have bred intermittently. But they are not that successful."

The colony has shown an extremely slow growth rate—less than a bird per year on average. Female cranes lay a maximum of two eggs each year. Egg predation, among other factors, may be holding the birds back, according to Ogilvie. He notes that the exact cause of their slow population growth is difficult to identify, since the cranes spend most of their time on private land that is largely off-limits to researchers.

"There's no knowledge as to what turnover there's been or whether any of the young ones have returned and bred in their own right. All that's really known is how many attempt to breed and whether they produce any young," Ogilivie said. "The landowner has been very protective of the birds all this time and has not allowed detailed study. This is understandable, because otherwise you risk disturbing [the birds]."

Ogilivie believes access restrictions imposed by the landowner is a likely reason why the cranes have stayed.

Shallow Lakes

The secret site lies somewhere in the Norfolk Broads, a landscape of rivers, fens, grazing marshes, and waterlogged woodlands near the North Sea.

Britain's largest protected wetland, the Norfolk Broads takes its name from the network of shallow lakes, or broads, dug in the Middle Ages as a source of peat for fuel. The entire region covers some 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) and extends south into the neighboring county of Suffolk.

The unheralded and unaided return of the charismatic cranes stands in marked contrast to the successful reintroduction of other species to the U.K. In recent years fanfare accompanied the return of species like the osprey and red kite in England and the white-tailed eagle in Scotland.

Tony Polack, marketing manager of the nonprofit conservation group Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: "It's always been the private landowner's wish that there's no publicity. His attitude is not to make cranes a conservation icon—as happened with ospreys—but that the best way of conserving the birds is to not allow people access to them."

Polack concedes, however, that the crane population has grown enough that their location has become an open secret among many bird-watching enthusiasts. Eventually the birds' whereabouts will become known among the wider public, Polack says. Given the cranes' size and noisy call, it's surprising this hasn't already happened.

The Eurasian crane grows up to four feet (1.2 meters) in height. Its high, trumpeting call carries at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). In short, it's a hard bird to ignore.

The crane has light to dark blue-gray plumage and a crimson cap at the back of its crown. The wing and tail feathers resemble the bustle on a Victorian lady's dress, bulking up the bird's otherwise spare frame.

Ornithologists believe the draining of eastern England's once extensive wetlands—particularly the Fens, a massive marshland wilderness that covered much of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and West Norfolk—was mainly responsible for the Eurasian crane's disappearance. The last reliable breeding record for the species dates back to 1542, during the reign of King Henry VIII.

"We lost quite a lot of other species, like the spoonbill and purple heron, which still breed just across the North Sea in the Netherlands," Ogilvie said.

Medieval Delicacy

Hunting almost certainly contributed to the crane's demise. The bird was considered a delicacy in medieval times. King John (1199-1216) is said to have satisfied his appetite for roasted crane with the help of huge gyr falcons—the most lethal weapons in a falconer's armory.

However, by the time Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth I, reached the throne, it seems the Eurasian crane was already extremely scarce. A feast to celebrate the queen's visit to the Fens in 1577 included 70 bitterns, 28 herons, and 12 spoonbills—but just a single crane.

It's not clear where the founding members of the current Norfolk crane colony came from. "There's a big migration of tens of thousands of cranes between wintering grounds in Spain and Sweden, where many of them breed. Every so often a few of these get blown off course and end up in Britain," Ogilvie said. "Perhaps they thought it was a nicer place than Sweden."

Whatever the reason behind the birds' arrival in Britain, the colony no longer migrates.

Phil Grice, chief ornithologist at English Nature, the lead U.K. government wildlife agency, said more stray birds would be welcome, especially now that significant work has been done to make England a more attractive destination to wetland birds.

"English Nature and others have put a lot of effort into reed bed restoration and creation in the last ten years, particularly in the hope of attracting the bittern [a rare marshland heron]," Grice said. "Lots of European Union money has gone into it as well."

In addition to the Norfolk Broads, suitable sites for Eurasian cranes now exist along the north Norfolk coast, along the Humber River estuary east of Leeds, and in wetland areas in southern England, Grice said.

It may not be long before the secret of the crane's remarkable U.K. homecoming will be something to shout about.

For more on cranes and other birds, scroll down for related stories and links.