Ұлыбританиядағы қара жумақтар: тарихы мен қайта оралғандары

Cranes are large, long legged and long necked birds of the order Gruiformes. Two species occur as wild birds in Great Britain: the common crane (Grus grus), a scarce migrant and very localised breeding resident currently being reintroduced to the country, and the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), an extreme vagrant from North America. A third species, the demoiselle crane (Grus virgo), has been recorded on a number of occasions, but these birds have not generally been accepted as being of wild origin. A number of other species are kept in captivity, resulting in the possibility of escapees being seen.

The common crane (Grus grus) is generally believed to have been a breeding bird in Britain in the Middle Ages. English people prized cranes as the "noblest quarry" for a falconer, and gladly ate them. In December 1212 King John flew his gyrfalcons at cranes at Ashwell, in Cambridgeshire, and killed seven, and on another occasion in Lincolnshire in February 1213 he brought down nine. A banquet to celebrate George Neville's enthronement as Archbishop of York in 1465 supposedly included 204 cranes. An Act of Parliament of 1533 included a measure that made the taking of cranes' eggs an offence, punishable by a fine, and there are five mentions in the "Household book of the L'Estrange family" of the supply of cranes for their larder between 1519 and 1533. Confusion arises about the identity of these birds as the grey heron was, and still is, known as "crane" in many parts of rural England. English place names with the prefix "cran" are not infrequent, and derive from the bird, for example the name of Cranfield in Bedfordshire derives from the Anglo Saxon crane feld open country frequented by cranes.

Common crane is a scarce spring and autumn migrant to Britain, with occasional birds remaining in winter or summer.

In the late 20th century, common crane recolonised the Norfolk Broads; the species has now established a resident population of some 20 individuals. This population is centred on the northeastern part of the Broads, in the Sea Palling / Horsey / Hickling area. The origins of this population can be traced to 15 September 1979, when two birds appeared near Hickling Broad; these two were joined by a third bird on 10 October. On 7 October, a crane with a rubber object wrapped around its bill was found in the Irstead / Horning area. It was taken into care and released on Horsey in March 1980, temporarily bringing the population to four.

Aside from in Norfolk above, there were pairs at two localities in Yorkshire in 2002, one of which was observed displaying. A pair nested in 2007 at Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk. A second pair was also present, but did not breed. A pair bred successfully on the Humberhead Levels in 2008 and 2009, rearing one chick each time. Two young hatched in each year but one from each brood was predated, probably by foxes. A pair bred and reared one young in the Nene Washes in 2010. (RSPB)

The British Trust for Ornithology estimated in 2017 that the UK breeding population of cranes is 10 pairs. 52 cranes were identified in the UK in winter, and 37 cranes were recorded as passage migrants. The European population of cranes in summer was estimated to be 50 to 70 thousand pairs.

In 2009, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, The RSPB and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, with funding from Viridor Credits, began a partnership project to re establish a breeding population of cranes at a new wetland site. A rearing facility or "crane school" was set up at WWT Slimbridge; this consists of a marsh garden designed to rear crane chicks between 2010 and 2014 in as close to a wild environment as possible. A pre release enclosure was also constructed on the Somerset Levels. Although the cranes are hand reared, all humans having contact with the birds wear special grey cover all smocks, complete with hoods, and feed the cranes using plaster cast crane heads mounted onto litter picker handles. Approximately 20 cranes are reared and released each year. The first cranes were released in 2010 with annual releases planned up until 2014. The cranes are released in Somerset, on the Somerset Levels and Moors, where the project is also working with farmers and landowners to create suitable breeding areas for the birds. A pair of cranes from the project laid the first egg in 2013.

Demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) has been recorded a number of times – in Cumbria, Dorset, Hampshire, Kent, Lanarkshire, Lancashire, Lothian, Norfolk, Orkney, the Western Isles and Yorkshire. The origin of these birds is not known, and they have not been accepted onto the British List.