The Common Crane, more than 3 centuries after it disappeared from Ireland, has returned to the island nation. Common Crane is a bird that has been a part of Ireland’s folklore and was also a popular pet during medieval times.
A pair of cranes was spotted in 2020 on a restored peat bog. It is a type of wetland that is mostly found in the northern latitude countries. Reportedly, the birds are in the Midlands region of Ireland, but their exact location has been kept secret in order to protect them.
About Common Crane:
The Common Crane is usually seen in Ireland during the winters, however is not sighted during the breeding season. It was the first time in 2020 in over 300 years that the birds were spotted nesting in Ireland during this period.
Common Cranes stand at 4 feet tall with a wingspan of over 7 feet. It is used to be the largest bird in Ireland. These Cranes are connected with the history and the culture of Ireland, as they feature in folklore tales as well as in the names of the towns of the island nation.
The birds were once a common sight in Ireland, however, the destruction of their habitat saw them disappear around the 16th and 17th centuries.
Why the sighting of Common Crane is significant?As per ecologist Mark McCorry, the return of the nesting pair of cranes was extremely significant. He added that while these birds come to Ireland during the winters, we have not seen them generally in the breeding season. So in 2020, when these birds were discovered, they were the first pair that were in the nest during the breeding season. So it’s a great indication, as it looks like that they are ready to re-colonise Ireland again. The birds did not produce eggs last year, which is not very unusual for the cranes as they take a couple of years to become successful breeders. However, McCorry was reasonably optimistic that the birds will go on to breed. |
Is Common Crane reestablishing its presence in Ireland?
As there was another spotting of the juvenile crane in Dublin in 2020, it has been suggested that the common crane is reestablishing its presence in Ireland.
The Common Cranes were spotted on land belonging to Bord na Mona. It is a semi-state company which is known for extracting peat fuel from the bogs in the region, however, the company ceased its harvesting operations in January 2021 to shift towards renewable energy and for rehabilitating the wetland bodies. It was the company that confirmed the sighting of Common Crane.
In what is a sighting of particular significance, we recently recorded a pair of Cranes nesting at a site on a rewetted bog. If they successfully breed, they will be the first Common Cranes to do so in Ireland in 300 years.
— Bord na Móna (@BordnaMona) May 3, 2021
Read more: https://t.co/bVW94CIv3Q pic.twitter.com/b5MgAzT5nH
Significance of Bog Restoration:
Bogs are the spongy, soft wetlands that accumulate peat- a fossil fuel that is used for heating businesses and homes in Northern Europe. Bogs are formed in northern climates and also take thousands of years to develop.
Bogs act as carbon sinks, confiscating around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Scandinavia and Siberia. However, for centuries, bogs have been drained for extracting peat, which leads to the destruction of their delicate ecosystems. This destruction also includes the damage to species such as cranes that breed in these bogs.
To restore these wetlands, efforts are now underway around the world. The restoration will be done by rewetting them and by reintroducing the bog plants. As per the experts, of bogs in Ireland recover, there is a chance that common cranes too will re-colonise them.
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