The dawn of the CRANES

摘要

A golden sun rises on a spectacular courtship dance that has not been seen in Britain for 400 years. Now the common crane is slowly recolonising old haunts. MARK COCKER tells the uplifting story of our very own phoenix ONE OF THE RAREST, the longest-winged, the loudest-voiced... the common crane is a bird of so many superlatives it's difficult to know where to begin. The one I particularly like is that in order to see a crane in Britain, you have to travel to the country's most eastern extremity, tothe seaward edge of the Norfolk Broads. Fortunately, I live near there, and for the past three decades I've made routine pilgrimages to enjoy views of one of our most impressive breeding species. On my last visit, I found a small flock feeding on open fields, far from the nearest road. At a distance, they appeared little more than grey smudges in the haze.