It has been a very exciting, record breaking few weeks here at Lakenheath. After 12 weeks of worry our crane parents finally got their recalcitrant youngsters into the air. As I'm sure most of our regular readers know we provide a home for two pairs of cranes here at Lakenheath. One pair, known to us as A2 are very secretive, the other pair, Little and Large are the more visible cranes to visitors, volunteers and staff alike. After a months incubation though March and early April both pairs hatched chicks, with Little and Large being about a week behind pair A2. We knew A2 had twins but Little and Large only a single chick. The literature on cranes says that crane chicks should be able to fly at 10 weeks old but ours generally do not fly until their 11th or 12th week after hatching. That is a long time in a young crane's life. When they are really small they could be eaten by mink, otter and marsh harrier. They are vulnerable to foxes until they can fly. In addition crane chicks can be very aggressive towards each other, with stories of chicks killing their siblings. Add in all the other risks, bad weather, disease, finding enough food and the dangers of navigating your way around a wetland and it is not difficult to see that most crane mortality occurs before the birds can fly.
So on to the record breaking - pair A2 managed to fledge both their youngsters , with the first flight we spotted being on the 6th July. These are the first crane twins reared here at Lakenheath. Then on the 12th July Little & Large coaxed their youngster into the air for his or her first flight. We have never managed to fledge 3 cranes in the same year before. Now that these chicks can fly they should hopefully enjoy long and fruitful lives. Given previous year's experience they will stay with us here at Lakenheath for a few weeks, building up their flight muscles. So now is a good time to come and try to see them - ask in the visitor centre for the latest information.
Pair A2 and the twins
By mid August they will start to range out across the Fens. They will stay with their parents throughout the autumn and winter and learn where to find food across the Fens on the arable fields and wetlands, mixing in with the other cranes present in the Fens. Cranes have a very varied diet; animal and vegetable including large insects, slugs and snails, left overs from the arable harvest - spilt grain, potatoes missed by the harvesting machines and sugar beet tops. They will use the wetlands in the Fens for safe roosting sites, with the Nene Washes being a favourite spot. The families will return to Lakenheath full-time sometime in January next year but the youngsters will be chased off by their parents in February or early March as mum and dad start to think about breeding again. I always think January, February and early March are the best time to see our cranes - they fly about frequently, bugling as they go and can often be seen dancing on the riverbank from the Joist Fen viewpoint. It should be particualry exciting this time with three teenage cranes to move out from mum and dad's home.
We hope that this year's young will stay with us in the Fens and join the growing population. It will be another 3 or 4 years before they find themselves a partner and start looking for a new home. There are plenty of other wetland sites which currently don't have breeding cranes so hopefully our birds will stick around and in a few year maybe we will see the spectacles they get in Europe with hundreds of cranes feeding in arable fields in winter, calling and dancing en mass.
Finally I would like to thank all the volunteers, contractors and staff involved who help to manage the reserve, monitor the cranes and generally get everything right so that the cranes can get on with the job of being parents. Oh and our two crane pairs for doing such a fantastic parenting job this year. Long may that continue.
Dave Rogers
Senior Site Manager
David Rogers Senior Site Manager - Lakenheath Fen