Bathed in Golden Sunlight

Left: Cranes in field courtesy of David Kjaer   Right: Damon Bridge, Great Crane Project Manager with tracking gear.

The first time I saw the Cranes they were bathed in golden sunlight.  I have only ever seen Cranes in fairy tales (they became extinct in the UK nearly 400 years ago), so it was a beautiful sight.  They are very elusive, but thanks to the Crane team and their amazing tracking kit we found them hidden away on the Somerset levels.  At first I couldn’t see them with my untrained eye – but gradually I managed to distinguish their slender necks and heads from the surrounding bulrushes.  It was a very moving experience and even more so due to the afternoon light and peace and quiet of the countryside.  A real change from inner city Birmingham and the noisy sparrows that dive bomb my bird feeders all day everyday!  I hope to see the Cranes a lot more over the coming months and look forward to going to Germany with the RSPB to collect eggs to bring back for rearing in Somerset.  I learned that it doesn’t harm the German Cranes to do this as they usually lay two eggs and re lay a second time, so they are fine and monitored well by aviculturists in Germany.