Common Crane #67

Today we went to WWT Slimbridge and had a great day, even if the rain soaked us in the afternoon. 
The first area we came to was the world collection area which showcases various wetland birds from around the world including various types of flamingoes which were stunning. But my favourite places were obviously the hides where the wild birds can be viewed if they are cooperating. 
There were numerous waders - redshanks, ruff, curlew, snipe, godwits and plenty of lapwings, but the stars of today were this pair of Common Cranes. 
This pair were part of the 5-year reintroduction programme which ended in 2015 and are called “Oakie” and “Sherbert” and were born in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The programme raised and released 93 chicks over this period  with this pair first successfully breeding in 2018. Various pairs often visit the reserve to feed and we were thrilled to add these to our list and see them relatively close by.  The other nice find was a Cattle Egret which is not so common in these parts (extra). We see them at Marshside and Burton Mere at home so were not as impressed at seeing them as we were the cranes. 
Dad is still in hospital after having a CT scan, but we don’t really know much more. They have an interdisciplinary meeting tomorrow to discuss what the next steps are but we are assuming that they must have found something that needs attention - and unfortunately we are thinking that the cancer has returned in some form or other. Anyway, we should know more tomorrow. Thank you for all your good wishes. They are very much appreciated.