A pair of rare common cranes returned from their overseas wintering grounds to successfully hatch a new chick in recent weeks on one of Bord na Móna’s rewetted peatlands.
This marks the second time a common crane chick has fledged and left Irish shores in the past two years.
Prior to this, the species had no known cases of breeding in Ireland for over 300 years.
The chick, which has taken its first flight, also known as fledging, will soon leave Ireland along with its parents and most likely spend the winter in southern Europe.
Peatlands
There have also been two separate sightings of common crane pairs in counties Offaly and Tipperary over the last few months.
Historically, the species was a regular breeding resident in Ireland but has been extinct in this country since at least the end of the 16th century.
All of the birds were spotted on Bord na Móna cutaway bogs which were formerly used to extract peat but have since been rewetted as part of the company’s Peatlands Climate Action Scheme (PCAS).
This EU-funded scheme involves the rehabilitation of Bord na Móna’s peatlands, and aims to rewet drained peatlands for improved climate, environmental, ecological and hydrological impacts.
The restoration of peatlands has also helped native plant and animal species and other bird species of conservation concern such as redshank and lapwing.
“Further to last year’s successful fledging of two common cranes in Ireland, we are delighted to report further fledging and additional sightings in recent months of this striking species on home soil,” Mark McCorry, lead ecologist at Bord na Móna, said.
“These sightings are a positive sign that the population of common cranes in Ireland may be on the rise, while also serving as a good indication that we are developing the right conditions and a favourable habitat to enable the species to thrive in this country.
“It is great to see the impact that peatlands rehabilitation is having from a biodiversity perspective in just a few years since we commenced our peatlands rehabilitation scheme in 2021, and we hope that more plant and wildlife species will continue to thrive in Ireland similar to the return of the common cranes,” he added.