Monty and Chris, the pair of reintroduced cranes which nested unsuccessfully at Slimbridge last year are having another go. There is a webcam at WWT - Wetlands for life - Slimbridge Cranes. Hatching is due in mid May, further details on the website. These birds are now 4 years old, so it is possible that they will be successful this year: they were the only pair of Great Crane Project birds to lay last year, but there are hopes for other pairs from this first cohort of birds. The first eggs from the fifth and final year of the project have arrived from Germany and are being incubated at Slimbridge. Alan
I visited Slimbridge today and was lucky enough to see a change over at the crane nest at about 17.15 GMT. The nest is visible from the Martin Smith hide. The egg(s) should hatch quite soon - fingers crossed I took photos (which I haven't even looked at yet) but I won't post any until the incubation period is finished to avoid providing clues to the location of the nest. Alan
There is so much gloom at the moment, so this is wonderful news. The return of these huge birds to the UK is a marvellous story.
