(Un)common Crane chicks

I'm still pretty tired after a busy few days at work, straight off the back of my short birding trip to Southern Spain last week. So, I was half-tempted to have a bit of a rest on my day off today.

However, a beautiful sunny morning, combined with the lure of the newly-hatched wild Common Crane chicks at WWT Slimbridge proved irresistible. After all, with what are probably the first wild-born Crane chicks to survive in Southern Britain in the last 400 years on my doorstep, it would be positively rude not to pay them a visit!

We'd been to see the pair on the nest a couple of weeks ago, so it was a real delight to see them now with their two babies. 

Chris(tine) coming back after a 20 minute break!!

Over the course of the day, the family spent much of their time in the shelter of the reed beds, however I did get some great clear views of the chicks as their parents led them around the fringes of the back of the pool. 

The adults - Monty & Chris(tine) - are amazingly attentive parents, constantly feeding their chicks. Mind you, considering that these fluffy little things will be almost the same size as their parents in only 6-8 weeks, you can see why a steady stream of food is needed! The adults are also very protective of their chicks, chasing off any other birds that ventured too close by. They seemed to have a particular hatred of Jackdaws, which they drove off very aggressively, yet strangely they didn't seem that bothered by Rooks, which I'd have thought might be more of a threat. They also saw off some menacing Lesser Black-backed Gulls, which were showing rather an unhealthy interest.

There were also lots of other waterfowl & waders raising families around the same pool, including Lapwings, Shell Ducks, Grey Heron and a pair of Mute Swans nesting just in front of the hide. It was also nice to see the water vole pass by on a couple of occasions.

Grey Heron

Lapwing

Mute Swan on the nest

I really hope that this brood of Crane chick marks the start of a sustainable recovery of a wild population of this beautiful species in the UK. I'll be following their progress with great interest over the coming weeks.