Is this a case of third time lucky? Slimbridge crane couple prepare nest
The famous crane couple at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre has been busy preparing a nest, raising the hope that they will succeed in raising chicks this year.
This is the third year that common cranes Monty and Chris(tine) have nested in full view of the public. Sadly, so far, none of their chicks have survived the first few perilous weeks of life.
This year the devoted pair have wasted no time getting down to business and have started to make a nest in the same location. The pair have spent a lot of time at the spot, pulling up reeds to make the nest on a small island surrounded by water.
Like all young animals, crane chicks face many risks. However, cranes are long-lived, intelligent birds and staff, volunteers and visitors to Slimbridge hope that Monty’s and Chris’s experience will help them succeed this year. If they manage to rear a chick to adulthood it will be the first to survive in Western England in 400 years.
Dave Paynter, Reserve Manager, said:
“Ahead of the breeding season we dug a moat around the spot where Monty and Chris have nested before, so it’s less accessible. It should give them an advantage and the good news is that’s where they look like they’re nesting again.
“We are excited but it’s still early days and it’s really down to Monty and Chris now. In the wild, crane parents and their chicks face a lot of threats, but each year the parents gain in experience, helping them in the future.
The parent birds Chris(tine) and Monty were hand-reared by The Great Crane Project reintroduction programme and released as three-month-old fledglings on the Somerset Moors and Levels. Cranes were once commonplace throughout the UK before disappearing in the 1600s due to hunting and loss of wetland habitats.
