Two giant cranes were spotted making nests on wet peat in the midlands of the Republic of Ireland. Presumably, they are the first of their kind to breed in Ireland in centuries. The giant species is part of the Irish tradition and was kept as a pet in medieval times, reported BBC.

The birds are on land owned by Bord na Mona, a semi-state company in the country and a former producer of peat. The specific location of where the cranes were found has not been revealed for their protection, BBC understands.

Earlier in the year, Bord na Mona ended peat harvesting for the better and has since been reintegrating thousands of acres of boglands, rewetting the drained areas.

Bord na Mona on May 3 publicised on Twitter about spotting the two cranes, saying, “In what is a sighting of particular significance, we recently recorded a pair of Cranes nesting at a site on a rewetted bog. If they successfully breed, they will be the first Common Cranes to do so in Ireland in 300 years”.

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Mark McCorry, the company’s leading ecologist, said that the return of the two birds was very significant. “While we have these birds coming to Ireland during the winter, we generally haven’t seen them in the breeding season,” said McCorry. “So last year, when they were discovered, they were the first pair that were in a nest during the breeding season” reported BBC.

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McCorry also said that he was optimistic about the birds successfully breeding. “They failed last year, but they did produce eggs. Obviously, we didn’t confirm any young, but that’s not uncommon for cranes,” he said to BBC.