Common crane

• More than three centuries after it disappeared from Ireland, the common crane, has returned to the island nation.
• A pair of cranes were spotted last year on a restored peat bog –a type of wetland that is mostly found in northern latitude countries.
• Cranes stand at 4 feet tall with a wingspan of over 7 feet and used to be the largest birds in Ireland.

Bogs (also called quagmires)

• They are soft, spongy wetlands that accumulate peat
• They also act as carbon sinks, sequestering around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Siberia and Scandinavia.
• For centuries, however, they have been drained for extracting peat or for development, leading to the destruction of their delicate ecosystems, including damage to species such as cranes that breed here.

Peat

• It is a fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and businesses in northern Europe.
• They are formed in northern climates, and take thousands of years to develop.