DAY 315: BLUE CRANE 1 - OUR NATIONAL TREASURE

The majestic Blue Crane is South Africa’s national bird & a prized symbol of royalty on the subcontinent.  There are three crane species in South Africa – The Blue Crane, the critically endangered Wattled Crane and the Grey Crowned Crane.  

They are not an uncommon sight when driving in our part of the world - up the West Coast of the Western Cape - often seen in the fields and quite a thrill to see. How many have you spotted lately? 

About half of the Blue Crane population is found in this province’s Overberg & Swartland agricultural regions, where because of changing agricultural practices that support the birds and because of greater conservation awareness, numbers are actually rising.

(Cape Argus report 2 July 2014)