Billy the bruiser rules Slimbridge cranes’ roost

Has developed a strange taste for slugs

July 2011: A small crane, who makes slugs and worms his dish of the day, has emerged as the surprise leader of the pack at this year's Crane School at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire.

Billy is one of the class of cranes being reared in the second year of the Great Crane Project.

As the cranes start to develop their personalities, one nicknamed Billy has exhibited some rather unusual characteristics. Although he is among the smallest, it is the most dominant of the cranes.

Eats until his beak is glued together
Billy runs at the other cranes barging them out of his path and struts around the exercise field. He has also developed a strange taste for slugs and worms. As they begin to forage, most cranes learn early on to avoid eating slugs as they ooze a sticky substance which temporarily glues their beaks together.

But when rain starts to fall Billy excitedly starts to dash around the field picking up any slugs or worms he spots until his beak becomes stuck together for 15 minutes or so.

These cranes are being reared by humans disguised as adult (‘mum' or ‘dad') cranes at Slimbridge Wetland Centre, so they are well-equipped for life in the wild and learn to fear people.

Fights any crane in his path

Pensthorpe Conservation Trust warden and Crane dad, Roland Digby, said: ‘You would normally expect one of the larger cranes to be the most dominant so it is a funny situation. We've nicknamed him Billy the Bruiser as he chases or tries to fight any crane in his path, they are all scared of him!

‘None of the other cranes would touch a slug or a worm so it is funny seeing Billy sprint around hunting for them - he really is one of a kind.'

The Great Crane Project, a partnership between WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, with major funding from Viridor Credits Environmental Company hopes to re-introduce and establish a wild population of this iconic species in Somerset over the next ten years.

Using WWT's renowned specialist conservation breeding expertise, the cranes were brought over as eggs collected from sustainable wild populations in Germany to WWT's Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire, back in April. They will be released to join the cranes from the first year of the project in autumn this year.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/slimbridge-crane2011.html

Rare sighting draws birdwatchers to Provincetown

By Jason Kolnos / Cape Cod Times
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

PROVINCETOWN — There’s a red-headed vagrant with a big mouth and colorful outfit turning heads in town these days. And it’s not an outlandish Commercial Street performer.

A stately sandhill crane has been spotted foraging for a good meal around a soccer field near Route 6 and the airport a few times over the past week or so.

The long-legged crane with a distinctive crimson forehead and white cheeks has area bird enthusiasts flocking to the Cape’s tip for a gander at the species not seen too often around these parts.

"It is a strikingly good-looking bird," said Joseph F. Cavanaugh III, a Mashpee attorney and bird enthusiast who photographed the crane Sunday morning.

Online bird-sighting message boards have been buzzing with posts about the crane, with some folks even organizing carpool excursions to go see it.

"They are real crowd-pleasers," said local bird expert E. Vernon Laux, a naturalist for the Linda Loring Nature Foundation on Nantucket and a Times columnist.

Adult sandhill cranes are big birds — standing about three feet tall and having a wing span of around six feet. Large, grey and rusty-orange colored feathers are hallmarks of their plumage.

The sandhill crane’s prolonged appearance in Provincetown is rare for the Outer Cape, but sightings of the species in the region have increased over the past five years, Laux said.

There have been reports of a few sandhill cranes spending the winter in places such as Cummaquid and Wareham.

To read the rest of this story, go to www.capecodonline.com

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100929cape_air_founder_reduces_role/

Rare sighting draws birdwatchers to Provincetown

By Jason Kolnos / Cape Cod Times
Wednesday, September 29, 2010

PROVINCETOWN — There’s a red-headed vagrant with a big mouth and colorful outfit turning heads in town these days. And it’s not an outlandish Commercial Street performer.

A stately sandhill crane has been spotted foraging for a good meal around a soccer field near Route 6 and the airport a few times over the past week or so.

The long-legged crane with a distinctive crimson forehead and white cheeks has area bird enthusiasts flocking to the Cape’s tip for a gander at the species not seen too often around these parts.

"It is a strikingly good-looking bird," said Joseph F. Cavanaugh III, a Mashpee attorney and bird enthusiast who photographed the crane Sunday morning.

Online bird-sighting message boards have been buzzing with posts about the crane, with some folks even organizing carpool excursions to go see it.

"They are real crowd-pleasers," said local bird expert E. Vernon Laux, a naturalist for the Linda Loring Nature Foundation on Nantucket and a Times columnist.

Adult sandhill cranes are big birds — standing about three feet tall and having a wing span of around six feet. Large, grey and rusty-orange colored feathers are hallmarks of their plumage.

The sandhill crane’s prolonged appearance in Provincetown is rare for the Outer Cape, but sightings of the species in the region have increased over the past five years, Laux said.

There have been reports of a few sandhill cranes spending the winter in places such as Cummaquid and Wareham.

To read the rest of this story, go to www.capecodonline.com

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100929cape_air_founder_reduces_role/

Chick gets slippers made to straighten his feet

July 5, 2010

A tiny chick which was born with curled toes has been given a pair of specially made slippers to allow him to walk.

When the baby African Crowned Crane was born at a wildlife centre in Cornwall staff noticed a defect with his feet.

Because his toes were curled he couldn't walk and bosses at Paradise Park in Hayle were worried for the bird, which had been abandoned by his mother.

Staff started hand-rearing him and put bandages on his feet to allow him to walk upright. When that worked, they decided to make the tiny 2.5cm slippers.

The little bird - which should grow to 4ft tall - is now happy running around with his other furry friends… which are all jealous of his footwear.

Park curator David Woolcock said: "The chick is doing very well and the park keepers take it for walks to strengthen those legs."

LINKS
Paradise Park

http://newslite.tv/2010/07/05/chick-gets-slippers-made-to-st.html

Vietnam forest fires threaten rare crane

Apr 28, 2010, 8:11 GMT

Hanoi - Forest fires in a national park are threatening the habitat of the endangered red-crowned crane, Vietnamese officials said Wednesday.

The fires have destroyed 200 hectares of Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta, the latest in a record-setting year of forest fires caused by low rain and hot weather.

The official Vietnam News reported Wednesday that over 500 firefighters, soldiers and police were fighting the blazes using water pumps drawing from nearby canals, but had failed to control them.

'Forest fires are much worse this year than last year,' said Nguyen Huy Loi, head of the Forest Management Department in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Loi said fires in the northern mountain district of Sapa and in southern Bu Gia Map National Park had already consumed thousands of hectares of forest. The fires near Sapa alone destroyed 1,700 hectares of forest before being extinguished in mid-February.

In the first two months of 2010, the Forest Protection Department said forest fires were running at over 10 times the rate for 2008 and 2009, when just 140 hectares were destroyed.

Loi blamed 'climate change,' resulting in lower rainfall and humidity.

The red-crowned crane is among the most endangered birds in the world, with some 1,500 believed to remain in the wild, mainly in China. The population in the Mekong Delta is believed to be about 200, according to a report by the local biosphere preserve.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1551543.php/Vietnam-forest-fires-threaten-rare-crane

Crane chicks hatch

RIGHT: One of the newly hatched Common Crane chicks. Photo: Grahame Madge

Posted on: 28 Apr 2010

The first eight Common Crane chicks, brought from Germany as part of the Great Crane Project have successfully hatched at WWT Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. The birds are destined to be released into the wild later this year.

The original plan was to fly the eggs over but these had to be rapidly changed because of last weeks’ air travel crisis. WWT’s Head of Conservation Breeding, Nigel Jarrett, drove to Germany and back instead on an epic 17 hour road trip carefully collecting the 18 Common Crane eggs in portable incubators. Only hours after arriving the first chick hatched, followed by seven more.

Nigel said: “We knew we would be cutting it fine, but we didn’t know quite how close it was! It really was a privilege to bring back such an iconic bird to Britain, they are back where they belong almost like a long-lost friend. This is the start of a new generation of British birds and I can’t wait to see these newly hatched cranes gracing our skies this autumn.”

More chicks should hatch at WWT Slimbridge in the next few days and a second batch of eggs arriving at later this week by air, courtesy of Airbus and Lufthanza. Over the next couple of months the crane chicks will be taught how to forage for food, swim, socialize 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 later this 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.

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__8990