Cranes of Great Britain

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.

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.

[2] 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.

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

[4] In the late 20th century, common crane recolonised the Norfolk Broads; the species has now established a resident population of some 20 individuals.

In the autumn of 2020 there were 78 cranes seen roosting in the Nene Washes: the highest modern-day count in Britain, since a flock of about 100 birds on migration were seen passing by in Sussex in October 1963.

The Scottish birds are thought to have originated from expanding continental populations independently of the recolonisation of eastern England.

[18] The Sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) is native to North America and Siberia, and a very rare vagrant in Britain, having been recorded just four times, twice in Shetland:[19] Elsewhere in Europe, there are records of sandhill crane from Galley Head, County Cork, Ireland in September 1905, and from the Faroe Islands on 14 October 1980.

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.