Record number of cranes bred in 2025 as UK’s tallest bird continues comeback

A record number of cranes bred in the UK last year as the once-vanished bird continues its comeback, conservationists said.

Cranes went extinct in the country around 400 years ago as a result of over-hunting and the loss of their favoured wetland habitat.

But wild recolonisation from Europe since the late 1970s, backed by efforts to protect existing habitat and create new wetlands – along with a concerted reintroduction scheme which saw conservationists dress as cranes to hand-rear young birds, have enabled the bird to stage a comeback.

Conservationists said a record 87 pairs raised 37 young last year, bringing the total population in the country to around 250 adults and younger non-breeding birds, “a phenomenal achievement” which shows what can be achieved with coordinated nature action.

Britain’s tallest bird stands a metre tall with a two-metre wingspan and is known for its complex courtship displays and loud bugling call that can be heard several miles away.

Flocks of more than 100 birds can now be seen in the Fens in winter, and cranes have extended their range as far as Scotland, where a record 10 pairs fledged nine chicks in 2025 – up from six pairs in 2024.

The birds – which once featured on royal banquets with 115 reportedly served at the Christmas feast of Henry III in 1251 – have benefited from individual landowners and conservation organisations protecting and restoring drained wetlands that cranes use to rear their chicks, the RSPB said.

At least 80% of the breeding population are now found on protected sites, with a third on RSPB reserves alone, including its West Sedgemoor reserve in Somerset and Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk, the wildlife charity said.

And the great crane project, a partnership between the RSPB, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, boosted numbers by hatching, hand-rearing and releasing cranes in the Somerset Levels and Moors, and creating nesting habitat with the help of local farmers.

Dave Rogers, reserve manager at Lakenheath Fen – a wetland originally created to support another rare bird, the bittern, said cranes had benefited from the mixture of young reeds and open water when the site was getting established.

Now, as the reeds have grown up over time, the team help the cranes by cutting areas in the winter to create landing spots for the adults and allow them to select secluded nest sites in shallow water.

Mr Rogers said creating wetlands, keeping them undisturbed by humans and managing habitat for cranes had “made a real difference”, and also pointed to the removal of hunting pressure in the UK and the expansion of the population in Europe.

And he told the Press Association: “We talk about the UK as being a very nature depleted country, so getting something back as iconic as cranes shows we can change the fortunes of a landscape, and change the fortunes of a species.

“It’s good for the soul to see something back in the UK, something that’s iconic.

“They’ve been lost for 400 years, to reverse that decline shows that humans can reverse some of the impacts they’ve had.”

John Oliver, South East Lincolnshire warden for the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said this year marked the seventh breeding year for cranes at the charity’s Willow Tree Fen reserve, with the population growing from one to four breeding pairs and more than 50 individuals roosting at the site.

And he said: “The recovery of cranes in the UK is a real conservation success.

“It demonstrates the resilience of nature and what can be achieved by working together.

“To reach a population of 250 is a phenomenal achievement but we still have a way to go,” he added.

Martin McGill, reserve manager at WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, warned that despite their record breeding year, cranes remained vulnerable.

“Their habitats are at risk from the ever-increasing impacts of climate change – making it more important than ever to come together across sectors, to protect and restore bigger, more connected wetlands, so this iconic bird can thrive long into the future,” he said.