Anyone who was up with the birds this morning may have managed to catch sight of an unusual visitor to Saltholme. Large and stately Cranes rarely pass through this part of the world and their numbers are in decline due to the loss of heavy manufacturing.
Weighing at an incredible 36 tonnes, and capable of lifting material up to 48m, a Liebherr box type torsion resistant Crane, made of high tensile fine grained structural steel, graced the Visitor Centre and perched our new mono draught ventilator housing onto the roof. It was an awesome spectacle as the morning sun reflected in it’s fine red coating. And as the Crane approached and towered over the Visitor Centre, the little Tree Sparrows hid in their nest box, chirping nervously.
Although this Crane did not perform any kind of display, it did give a loud trumpeting call to a car in the way as it left the site, probably in search of something else to pick up and take back to it’s yard.