Crane

[lee5243]

Hi,

I got a tip off about this Crane last week in fields near Quoys of Reiss so hot footed it down there and managed to get some snaps of it.
Ive never seen one before but it was a wonder to watch.

Do we get these in Caithness often??

[Kenn]

NO ! They are rare vagrants here.

[Fulmar]

NO ! They are rare vagrants here.

Vagrant cranes! Love it!
Amazing that you saw it though, well done.

[JanetA]

Hi there

I first spotted the crane on 14 November and he/she was in the field opposite Quoys of Reiss farm - both in the harvested field and the green field. I contacted RSPB on the 16 November and they said ..."You’veprobably already read that Cranes are summer visitors to the UK, and our birdsfly south to Africa for the winter. I suspect this bird has been blown offcourse and ended up in Scotland, after starting its migration from northernEurope. This bird will eventually head south, but ideally the prevailing windsneed to be in its favour. I suspect this bird will be recovering some energy,before the next leg of its journey. Thanks".

It seems that this crane is quite happy and feeding well as he has survived for almost 2 months there. I haven't seen him in the last couple of trips to Wick, so delighted he is still OK.
He/she is a real treat for the UK as a whole, let alone Caithness. I have tracked down that some do stop in Norfolk/Suffolk area in the winter, but this one may have been blown off course from Norway (where there are a few for the summer) so might think the Caithness just fine!