Cranes, the UK’s tallest bird at over a metre high, had a record breeding season last year thanks to the efforts of conservationists, with 2025 surveys showing that a record-breaking 87 pairs raised 37 chicks.
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Cranes, the UK’s tallest bird at over a metre high, had a record breeding season last year thanks to the efforts of conservationists, with 2025 surveys showing that a record-breaking 87 pairs raised 37 chicks. This brings the total number of Cranes in the UK to about 250, offering hope that nature loss can be turned around with the right support and commitment.
Cranes used to be a familiar part of British wildlife, but they went extinct in the UK in the 1600s because of overhunting and the loss of their favoured wetland habitat; just one feast (the Christmas feast of Henry III in 1251) reportedly served 115 Cranes. They started recolonising in 1979, when a small number of wild Cranes from mainland Europe came to Norfolk.
Individual landowners and nature reserves have played a vital role in Cranes’ recovery, particularly through protection and the restoration of drained wetlands that the birds use to raise their chicks. At least 80% of the breeding population are now found on protected sites, with a third on RSPB reserves alone (up from just two pairs in 2010) including RSPB West Sedgemoor in Somerset and RSPB Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk.
Cranes now reach as far as Scotland with the total population across the UK believed to be around 250 birds (including both adults and younger, non-breeding birds). Scotland also had a record year for breeding Cranes last year with at least 10 pairs fledging nine chicks, up from six pairs in 2024.
The Great Crane Project, a partnership between the RSPB, WWT and the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust, and funded by Viridor Credits Environmental Company, also gave Crane numbers a big boost. Between 2009 and 2014, this partnership worked together to hatch, hand-rear and release cranes in the Somerset Levels and Moors, and, with the help of local farming families, create suitable crane-nesting habitat across the landscape.
Cranes are also famed for their courtship dances; complex noisy displays with bows, pirouettes and bobs, which take place during the breeding season between the male and female.
Andrew Stanbury, RSPB Conservation Scientist, said: “Cranes are iconic birds, but for hundreds of years their incredible mating ‘dances’ and unmistakable bugling calls were lost to us in the UK. I feel so lucky to live in a time where they are bouncing back – you can now see a flock of over a hundred Cranes in the Fens in the winter, something that would have been unthinkable even 20 years ago, and that’s all down to the efforts of landowners, volunteers, and supporters across the countries.”
Martin McGill, Reserve Manager at WWT Slimbridge said: “Cranes are incredible birds that spark excitement for everyone who visits WWT Slimbridge. We’re so pleased that some of the birds raised in our breeding unit – like pair Wendy and Albert who were released in Somerset over a decade ago – can still be seen dancing and calling across the reserve to this day. However, despite their record breeding year, the Crane remains 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.”
Damon Bridge, Chair of the UK Crane Working Group said: “Hearing the incredible evocative calls of these birds as they pair up each Spring always take my breath away and it’s amazing witnessing them take their place back in the landscapes where they were once widespread. With the number of breeding pairs here still well below 100 they are vulnerable, but the collective conservation efforts across the UK to create more wetland habitat, resilient to the impacts of climate change, will help cranes to thrive into the future.”
John Oliver, South East Lincolnshire Warden for the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust 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. In Lincolnshire, 2026 marks our seventh breeding season for cranes at Willow Tree Fen. Since their arrival we have watched, listened, and adapted our wetlands allowing the population to grow from one to four breeding pairs with over 50 individuals roosting on site. Our viewpoint overlooks these majestic creatures displaying, bugling and going about their day-to-day lives creating unforgettable experiences."