160, fabulous!

Brue The greatcraneproject via one of the birding blogs I subscribe to

Cranes? Ainsclough, Coles, and locally Marsh Plant. 

Not seen a Coles Crane in years, but they live on in the box in the attic marked "Dinky".

Brue The greatcraneproject via one of the birding blogs I subscribe to

Thanks Oneputt, read it myself now, sad news.

Common Crane found dead on the Somerset Levels at end of September, looks like it had been shot.  Hope they catch the culprit.  

Write your comments here...Dreadful news Oneputt. They've not a chance of catching the callous ********, more's the pity.

The supposition is that it was a wild fowler but they must have realised by size that it was a protected species.  Incidentally I think wild fowl shooting should be banned

Firstly they should have a total ban on lead shot, then very quickly followed by banning shooting of wild anything in the name of sport! That's my opinion of course, thankfully we live in a country which allows me to express this.

Part text of an e-mail I received this morning,  I've seen 1 woodcock in the last 5 years so where are they all?

The Government has responded to the petition you signed – “Introduce a moratorium on the hunting of critically declining wading birds”.

Government responded:

It is unlikely that hunting has had a significant impact on recent population trends for woodcock, snipe and golden plover; trends are likely to be influenced more by the quality and extent of habitat

All wild birds are protected in accordance with the provisions set out in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, however, some species of birds (as listed in Schedule 2 of the Act) may be killed or taken outside the close season. Woodcock, snipe and golden plover are amongst those species that may be taken. In England and Wales the dates for woodcock are 1 October to 31 January; common snipe 12 August to 31 January; golden plover 1 September to 31 January.

Shooting is a legitimate activity and in addition to providing jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas, it can offer important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation. The Government’s manifesto commits to protect shooting for the benefits it brings to individuals, the environment and the rural economy.

Recent data shows that the woodcock has a breeding population or around 78,000 pairs; common snipe 76,000 and golden plover between 38,000 and 59,000. Overwintering populations increase their numbers to approximately 1.4 million (woodcock), 1 million (common snipe) and 400,000 (golden plover). The numbers in winter are greatly increased as a result of birds arriving from Scandinavia, the Baltic States and Russia and many of our breeding birds (and their offspring) leave the country in winter.

I've only seen one woodcock too.  This is interesting when you cursor down the page to read what happens to the Cranes who don't survive. The Great Crane Project

Interesting reading Brue

Many thanks for an interesting read, Brue.