Common cranes return to Bord na Mona bogs for another breeding season

A pair of rare common cranes, which have previously nested at a Bord na Mona bog in the Midlands, have returned for a seventh consecutive year.

The pair, which have successfully reared five chicks in the last three years, have been seen back at their favoured nesting site by an ecologist working for Bord na Mona. Following careful monitoring it has now been established that the pair are once again incubating eggs.

The recent story of breeding cranes in Ireland is very much that of a returning species. Formerly lost as a breeding bird, the initial breeding attempts by a single pair in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and then successful breeding in 2022, 2023 and 2024 mark the first time in several hundred years that this iconic species is once again part of Ireland's breeding avifauna.

The location of the nest is confidential in order to protect and conserve the birds. However, it is confirmed that the site is situated on a cutaway bog, formerly used to harvest peat for energy production.

Chris Cullen, Ecologist at BnM, who has been monitoring the Cranes since 2022 explains, “these birds are now benefiting further from habitat improvements associated with BnM’s Peatland Climate Action Scheme (PCAS). Over the last two breeding periods, the nesting pair and their young have been seen utilising recently rehabilitated cutaway peatlands for feeding and shelter. In addition, over the last number of years, several summering, but non-breeding individuals, have also been observed on other rehabilitated cutaway bogs in the Midlands. It appears a nascent breeding population is possibly becoming established, with clear links to rehabilitated peatlands in terms of usage”.

The Peatland Climate Action Scheme is a large-scale peatlands restoration project administered by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and regulated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, targeting the delivery of climate action along with biodiversity or natural capital benefits. Over 20,000 hectares has been rehabilitated under this Scheme to date.

It is hoped that the ongoing development of wetland habitats following rehabilitation under the present scheme will continue to support the expansion of this newly returned species in Ireland.

The crane is deeply connected to the culture and history of Ireland. They have been central to folklore tales such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill, the druids, St Colmcille, and the Book of Kells.

Their Gaelic name, Corr, can be founded in hundreds of place names, such as the Curragh in Kildare which means ‘Crane Meadow’.