The Eurasian Crane is the only existing crane species in Northern and Central Europe. Its breeding territory reaches from the Weser river in Germany across Scandinavia, the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia up to Asia. Some isolated small populations are breeding in England, the Netherlands and France.

More than 75.000 pairs breed in Europe most of which live in Scandinavia: 20.000 pairs in Sweden, 15.000- 20.000 in Finland and 3.000 in Norway, another 12.000 pairs can be found in Poland and about 10.000 in the Baltic States. Germany accommodates 5.900 breeding pairs, half of them use breeding sites in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 1.900 pairs live in Brandenburg. Small breeding populations exist in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony.

As ground breeders, cranes have to protect themselves and their clutch against predators like foxes and wild pigs, but also against humans. That´s why they build their nest in knee-deep water. Depending on ground and water level, the nest which is made of plant material can reach a diameter of up to one meter. Sometimes, small islands or the roots of alders are chosen as nest locations.

Cranes favour bog forests and terrestrialised lakes and ponds. The most common breeding place in Germany is the alder marshes (wet to soggy alder forests, often located in beech forests). Cranes also use kettle lakes (“Soelle”, small water filled holes in the fields) as breeding places.

In the middle of March or the beginning of April the Eurasian Crane starts laying its eggs. Within three days the female usually lays two eggs. Both partners take care of the breeding which takes 30 to 31 days. In most cases, the offspring hatches at an interval of one day. They are precocial birds and already accompany the adults on their search for food at the early age of 24 to 30 hours.

In the first weeks, the parents feed their offspring with insects, larvae, worms and snails until the juveniles can search independently. They grow rapidly and are able to fly after just ten weeks. At the end of July, they fly with their parents to distant feeding and gathering sites. They search for remains on harvested crop fields.

Sufficient water levels and calmness at the breeding sites are the best protection for breeding and rearing. Low water levels allow wild pigs and foxes to reach the nests and feed the eggs. In some cases, breeding cranes were even killed by foxes while sleeping. This shows the importance of wet areas for the survival of cranes. If the water level is too low, better conditions can be achieved by retaining water and other regulating actions.

The activities of human beings (forestry, agriculture, hunting, tourism) pose a potential threat: Cranes are highly sensitive during the breeding period and can give up their nest when they are disturbed. Therefore the interference by human beings is often regulated by law, for example the nest protection zones in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. In addition, the committed people from Crane Conservation Germany who take care of the breeding sites as well as programs for the protection of wet areas by NABU and WWF help to implement different protection measures on local level.

The most important premise for an efficient protection is the trustful teamwork between land owners, foresters, farmers and hunters as well as the officials and volunteers for nature conservation.