Common crane on nest

The irony is they could have nested the other side of a Fox proof fence here though of course it might not have been suitable habitat for them, nor would it help them learn the dangers. But they would probably have stood a better chance of success.

Sad news of course, but even successful reintroduction projects will always have setbacks. Monty and Chris have done much better this year than they did last year: there is every chance that they and the other cranes who nested this year will do better next year: the GCP had always anticipated that while successful breeding in 2014 was possible, 2015 was the realistic target.
The fox-proof fencing at Slimbridge is rather a red herring. The GCP's efforts at creating suitable breeding sites have been concentrated in Somerset and the nesting attempts at Slimbridge were unexpected. In the end the cranes have to select their own nest sites and they cannot be expected to understand the details of Slimbridge's management: of course this doesn't mean that efforts should not be made to provide more secure and attractive nest sites - which will certainly be needed as more birds mature each year.

Alan

Of course I accept all that. My comment was made because in this one location they happened to be the 'wrong' side of a Fox proof fence, which could(possibly) have made the difference between success and failure in this particular instance. Of course its just about the only place in the Somerset/Gloucester area where such a situation could arise. Overall the Cranes wouldn't be in such a situation anywhere else in the area.

I think without Foxes (I am presuming the second chick went the way of the first?) that they could well have succeeded this year. I fear they will face similar problems in future years too, unless/until, as the blog says, they learn to nest in deeper water where Foxes can't get to them.

Are there no wild boars in the Somerset area?

Wild boars are the main predator of crane nests in my country. Local foxes and (quite recently) wolves seem to be rather insignificant threat to breeding success when compared with hungry boars.

How does the adult crane mortality rate seem so far for the released cranes in the UK?

Feral wild boar are increasing in England, but they are only common in a few limited areas. One of which is the Forest of Dean across the Severn Estuary from Slimbridge, there are very few sightings from Somerset where the cranes have been released. I don't think they are a significant problem at the moment. I am sure that foxes are the main threat, although otters, feral mink, rats and even badgers might take chicks or eggs.
Survival of the released birds has been excellent. 76 have been released since 2010. One had to recaptured, 7 have died and 5 have disappeared (although at least one has been seen far from the release area). The fifth and final batch of 21 chicks is being reared by the avicultural team at Slimbridge now.

Alan

1. Wild Boar only occur in several parts of the UK as reintroduced/escaped animals from farms. I don't think there are any in wetland 'levels' of Somerset where the Cranes are being introduced.

2. I think Foxes may be at a higher density(?) in the UK than in some other parts of Europe. As such they could form a more significant threat here to ground-nesters.

3. They have done very well- a high survival rate, something like 80% I think. Much higher than they were hoping for.

Thanks both for your answers.

Regarding fox population density in Central Europe, I don´t have exact figures to compare them with the UK. Official hunter statistic shows roughly 1 shot fox per 100 ha in the Czech rep annually. I don´t think we have lower fox density then the UK (with exception of urban foxes).

The BBC 'Countryfile' programme last evening featured a short update on the Cranes' breeding attempt, saying the chick(singular- no mention of two) had 'sadly disappeared' but they 'hoped it was okay'... it seemed too much(early evening viewing?) for them to say its gone for good, which I thought was rather misleading.