Summary:

From early May 1999 a pair of Common Cranes was present in the Fochteloërveen, a 1951ha peat moor on the border of the provinces of Friesland and Drenthe in the northern Netherlands. Large parts of this protected area have become wetter during the second half of the 1990s. The pair was seen copulating on 16 May, and again on 5 July. From 23 May through late June, the pair showed very secretive behaviour in the central, wettest and most inaccessible part of the peat moor, but a nest was not found. From early July onwards, both birds emerged from the peat moor and starting foraging on the neighbouring grasslands, using the peat moor as a roost only. On 15 July, four birds were present (presumably including the pair which was present at another
heathland-Wapserveld-in Drenthe till mid-June), increasing to 5 birds on 10 September and 7 birds on 11-19 September. In September, all birds were foraging on rye stubble. From 17 October throught 7 (possibly 14) November, two adults remained in the area, foraging on arable land and roosting in Fochteloërveen. These observations are consistent with a gradual increase in the frequency of summering Common Cranes in The Netherlands and an increasing breeding population in nearby Germany.



The Fochteloërveen is a peat moor relic of 2000 ha at the border of the provinces of Frisia and Drenthe in the northern part of The Netherlands.

From 1999 onwards cranes, between which two pairs, regularly visited the area. In 2000-2002 they only were absent during spells of cold weather. In 2001 one of the pairs produced one egg and succesfully raised a chick. In 2002 both pairs started a breeding attempt, but one failed in an early stage. The other pair laid one egg and raised the chick. Clutches of one egg are rare in Common Cranes and probably the breeding birds of the Fochteloërveen are young and/or inexperienced. The cranes used a large part of the Fochteloërveen and its surroundings to forage. Earlier and later in the season they mainly foraged on the adjacent agricultural fields, especially on harvested maize, cereals and potatoes. The night was spent in shallow water on the peatmoor. The nest were built in very wet parts of the peat moor, far away from human disturbance. During the first days the pair and young foraged close to the nest in an area of no more than 1.5 ha. In 2001 from day 12 to day 50 the parents with the young occupied an area of c. 30 ha on the peat moor to forage and sleep. During the first days after hatching the chicks were fed with invisible prey items, probably insects. Later on the parents offered in pupae or larvae (2), dragonflies (2), lizards (4), snakes (2), frogs (4), mushrooms (7) and lots of berries of Vaccinium corymbosum. The choice of the Fochteloërveen as the first breeding site in the Netherlands is not coincidental. Compared to other areasin the Netherland the Fochteloërveen and surroundings are extreme thinly populated, the wet nature reserve is not bordered by roads, so the birds have freely acces to the bordering agriculture fields and the whole area is hard to penetrate because of lack of roads and because of a prison complex in the forest north of the peat moor.