Imagine...it's spring, and the morning sun is slowly burning the mist off the marshes...
A crane in the morning mist. Credit - RSPB images
You walk towards the source of this incredible sound, and catch a glimpse of movement in the meadow grasses. With bill turned skywards, a piebald head on a long slender neck is heralding the day. Your heart almost stops. Unmistakable - it's a crane!
Cranes are beautiful. Their trumpeting calls sound astonishing.
And they have a courtship dance that has to be seen to be believed.
Before hunting and the draining of our wetlands wiped them out, cranes were plentifuland widespread in the UK.
Today, there are around 20 pairs in the country - with the majority of them found in the Broads and Fens of East Anglia.
The Great Crane Project will help to re-establish the cranes' former numbers in wetlands throughout the UK, so that people can once again experience these wonderful and magnificent birds.
Explore this site, watch Return of the Cranes a short film,
listen to the Crane Soundscape, Meet the Cranes of 2010, Meet the Cranes of 2011,
Meet the Cranes of 2012, view the Crane Sightings Map and if you've seen the cranes in the wild, you can find out more on how to submit your sighting.
Keep up to date with the Latest News providing regular updates
from the project team on the progress so far.
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Cranes have inhabited the world for an incredible 40 million years... more than 13 times as long as human kind!
Cranes are one of the tallest of all breeding birds in the UK, standing 4 – 4.5m tall.
They are the loudest birds - their calls travel over distances of 3 miles
They are the highest flying of all birds - they reach altitudes of 32,000 feet.
Follow the Great Crane Project on flickr
Phelps
Easter Beans
Red Black Blue
Elizabeth Royal
Black Green Blue
Alexander
Blue Red Blue
Blue Yellow Blue
Blue Black Blue
Wycliffe
Yellow Green Blue
Wiz
Green Red Blue
Green White Blue
Green Yellow Blue
Margaret
Jasper
Jess
Pickles