May 17,2021

Anna Murray 

The sighting of a pair of Common Cranes is reportedly nesting in a rewetted bog wetland in central Ireland. Irish energy corporation Bord na Móna has confirmed the significant news. This company used to 
develop Ireland's peat resources, but now is dedicated to renewable energy, carbon storage and recycling. which are highly central to folklore tales such as Fionn MacCumhaill, the druids, St Colmcille, and the Book of Kells, connected to the culture and history of Ireland.

Common Cranes were often kept as a pet in Ireland in medieval times. They became extirpated in Ireland in the 18th century. Bord na Móna’s lead ecologist Mark McCorry described that sometime between 1600 and 1700 Common Cranes became popular meat for people, and fell victim to foxes, and in particular, lost their living habitat after draining of wetlands so as to face the fate of extinction.

Earlier in January, Bord na Móna stopped peat harvesting and rehabilitated by rewetting the drained sites of nearly 20,000 hectares of boglands. Adult cranes stand at about 1.2m (4ft) with a wingspan of more than 7ft. The giant bird's nesting has significant meaning in Ireland’s environmental biodiversity after an absence of more than 300 years.

Photo : webshot.