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Record year for Scotland’s tallest bird after return from extinction
The Common Crane had a record breeding year in Scotland
4 min read
Record year for breeding Cranes in Scotland
Scotland's tallest species of bird had a record breeding season in 2025 following its return from extinction in the country. Cranes are the UK’s tallest bird with adult birds growing to more than a metre high.
The birds were driven to extinction in Scotland during the 16th century due to habitat loss and hunting. However, in 2012 a pair of Cranes successfully bred in Scotland for the first time in more than 400 years after naturally recolonising an area in Aberdeenshire. Last year a total of 10 pairs fledged nine chicks, up from six pairs in 2024. The counts were conducted by dedicated volunteers for RSPB Scotland.
Ron Macdonald, a volunteer for RSPB Scotland, said:
As one of half a dozen volunteers that comprise the RSPB North East Scotland Crane monitoring team, I feel privileged to be able to regularly observe such a rare bird that has recolonised Scotland under its own steam. There’s something primeval in the way it looks, reminiscent of a pterodactyl that in the distant past probably flew over our ancient woodlands and raised peat bogs. I feel privileged to be able to regularly observe such a rare bird that has recolonised Scotland under its own steam".
“One of my first sightings of breeding cranes was seeing and hearing a lone Crane flying towards an established pair bugling as it did so. Local farmers tell us that they also bugle at night, a melancholy sound that carries some distance if the night is still.
He added: “However, my delight over its record breeding success in 2025 is mixed with apprehension as a recently published research paper reports that an estimated 10% of the western flyway of the Common Crane has succumbed to avian influenza.
"That’s 40,000 out of a flyway population of 400,000 birds.
"We hope that the record breeding success of 2025 is not set back by the impact of avian influenza.”
Cranes first recolonised the UK in 1979, when a small number of birds from mainland Europe were spotted in Norfolk. Since then, their numbers have increased with the birds also having a record-breaking year in the rest of the UK with a total of 87 pairs raising 37 chicks.
The total number of Cranes in the UK is now thought to number around 250 with conservation efforts and the protection of habitat contributing to their recovery.
Cranes are famed for their mating dances, which include bows, pirouettes and bobs between the male and female during breeding season. This spectacle was filmed by Macdonald in 2025 and is available to see on the RSPB YouTube channel. Their ‘bugling’ call can be heard up to 3.5 miles away.
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Andrew Stanbury, RSPB Conservation Scientist, said:
“Cranes are iconic birds, with unforgettable pirouetting mating ‘dances’ and unmistakable bugling calls. But for hundreds of years these sights and sounds were lost to the UK, and we’re so lucky to live in a time where, thanks to the huge efforts of supporters, volunteers, and charities, these birds are once again part of our landscape.
But their wetland homes are still very much at risk from extreme weather events, such as drought and flooding, and there’s also the ever present risk of bird flu.
We must also invest in long-term protections if we wish for Cranes to truly recover.”
