Kraanvogels Grus grus in het Fochteloërveen in 1999: een poging tot broeden?

From early May 1999 a pair of Common Cranes was present in the Fochteloerveen, a 1951 ha large 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 started 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 through 7 (possibly 14) November, two adults remained in the area, foraging on arable land and roosting in Fochteloerveen. 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.