Latest news with #commoncrane
BBC News
14-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Washington Wetland Centre's first crane chick in three years dies
A common crane chick that was the first to have hatched at a nature reserve for three years has died, bosses have bird was just the second to hatch to its parents, which have been at WWT Washington Wetland Centre near Sunderland since are working to identify a possible cause of death, a WWT spokeswoman adult pair were originally hatched in the Netherlands and moved to Washington in the early stages of the Great Crane Project, which has seen the bird successfully integrated to the UK. The chick was born in May and the family had been off-show to allow them to bond in a quiet and protected environment, the WWT in a social media update, the organisation said: "We're very sad to let you know that, despite excellent and expert care from our collection team and vets, the crane chick has passed away. "We don't know the reason but we'll be working with our vets to understand if there's a cause which can be identified in the coming weeks."Thanks, as ever, for the care and support you show our animals and team, especially at times like this." It is not yet known whether the chick was male or female, with the WWT saying testing was still to be carried parents are 18 years old and bred for the very first time in 2022 when they successfully hatched a young had said the second chick arrived after months of flirting, nest building and prospecting by the adult the wild, common cranes form monogamous pairs for life, breeding from around four to five years old. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Common crane chick hatches at wetland centre in UK
The first common crane chick in three years recently hatched at the WWT Washington Wetland Centre near Sunderland. Common cranes were once extinct in the UK but have been making a comeback. This chick is the second chick from the same parent birds at the Wetland centre after they were moved there as part of the Great Cane Project. The chick's parents were hatched in the Netherlands and then moved across to the 2008, these parent cranes were moved to Sunderland and since then have been happily living in the wetlands. They first had a chick together in 2022 when they hatched a young female, and now she has a family is now spending some time off-show at the wetland centre to bond in a quiet, protected environment. What is a common crane? Common cranes are the UK's tallest birds, standing at around 4 foot (1.2 metres) tall. Cranes are mainly grey and have long legs, a long neck and drooping, curved tail eat seeds, roots, insects, snails and once extinct in the UK, this stunning bird can now be found across England, Scotland and Wales.
