Common Crane in Ireland
Source : Indian Express
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

Common crane returns to Ireland after more than 3 centuries. 

Key Facts

• Three centuries after it disappeared from Ireland the common crane has returned to the island nation.
• A bird that is part of its folklore and was a popular pet during medieval times.
• In Common Culture : A bird that is part of its folklore and was a popular pet during medieval times.
• A pair of cranes was spotted last year on a restored Peat Bog a type of wetland that is mostly found in northern latitude countries.
• The birds are in Ireland’s Midlands region but their exact location has been kept secret to protect them.
• The common crane is typically seen in Ireland during the winter but is not sighted during the breeding season.
• Last year was the first time in over 300 years that they were spotted nesting in Ireland during this period.
• These Cranes stand at 4 feet tall with a wingspan of over 7 feet, and used to be the largest birds in Ireland.
• It is also being suggested that the common crane is reestablishing its presence in Ireland.

About Cranes

• The common crane is typically seen in Ireland during the winter, but is not sighted during the breeding season.
• Last year was the first time in over 300 years that they were spotted nesting in Ireland during this period.
• They were once common, the destruction of their habitat saw them disappear around the 16th and 17th century.

Bog Restoration

• Bogs also called quagmires.
• They are soft spongy wetlands that accumulate peat– a fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and businesses in northern Europe.
• They are formed in northern climates, and take thousands of years to develop.
• Bogs also act as carbon sinks, sequestering around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Siberia and Scandinavia.
• Efforts are now underway around the world to restore these Bogs wetlands by reintroducing bog plants.
• If bogs in Ireland recover, experts say, there is a chance that cranes too would re-colonise them.

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