Crane eggs shipped from Germany to Slimbridge

Once hatched, the chicks will go to crane school

April 2011: A clutch of very special eggs arrived at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire earlier this month - 14 common crane eggs from Germany. 

LONG JOURNEY: The crane eggs arrive at Slimbridge in special incubators. Picture: WWT

Once hatched, the chicks will be brought up at Slimbridge's famous Crane School, from where they will graduate to the beautiful wetlands of the Somerset Moors and Levels. There they will join the 18 fully grown cranes which were released there last August.

The eggs were carefully transported back from Germany by The Great Crane Project team, including the cranes' ‘parents', Roland Digby and Amy King, who took turns at the wheel on the epic road trip while the eggs rested in portable incubators in the back.

Amy said: ‘Spring is in the air and it's exciting to be back at Slimbridge's Crane School, having spent much of the winter monitoring last year's birds on the Somerset Levels.

'We're starting this year with renewed confidence'
‘Now we have the eggs back from Germany we'll be dusting off the famous grey crane suits and preparing to teach this year's birds how to survive in the wild.

‘The first year has been such a success, with local people on the Somerset levels now regularly seeing and hearing the magnificent cranes calling and dancing as a flock, that we're starting this year with renewed confidence.'

The next few days should see the crane chicks hatch at WWT Slimbridge and a second batch of eggs will arrive at Crane School next week. Then over the summer Roland and Amy will go on to teach their brood of crane chicks how to forage for food, swim, socialise and protect themselves from predators - all valuable lessons to help them prepare for life in the wild.

The cranes will be transferred to a temporary release enclosure on the Somerset Levels and Moors at the end of the summer before they are released into the wild as part of the Great Crane Project - a partnership between WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, with major funding from Viridor Credits Environmental Company.