spectacle in the sky
Brisk air traffic over Hesse – a quarter of a million cranes cross the federal state
A flock of cranes at sunset. The animals are currently starting in France in the morning when the weather is good and then fly over Hesse in the early afternoon
© Global Travel Images / Picture Alliance
In Hesse, it is currently worth taking a look at the sky. Cranes on their way out of their winter quarters create an incomparable natural spectacle.
There is a lot of air traffic over Hesse – the cranes are on their way out of their winter quarters and are flying in their hundreds of thousands over the federal state that is on their main route. The large birds are on their way to more northern and eastern regions, and a few specimens have already been sighted.
The nature conservation association Nabu, which has now drawn attention to this incomparable natural spectacle, expects that 250,000 cranes will cross parts of the federal state in Hesse alone in the coming weeks. In sunny weather with a south-west wind, there is a particularly good chance of spotting flocks, as the cranes then like to be carried along in the wind.
Bird migration goes east and north from Spain via France and Hesse
According to Nabu, the cranes spent the winter in southern Spain and are now heading for eastern Germany and northern Europe.
According to the nature conservationists, the flight follows special crane plans: In the early morning, the animals started in France if the weather was good, around 2 p.m. they would then fly over the Rhine-Main area before continuing towards northern Hesse in the late afternoon. After that, the birds would set course for the Weser.
If the weather is bad, they sometimes rest and settle down by rivers and in large meadows for this purpose. If you want to watch the birds, you should only go up to 300 meters, so as not to disturb the exhausted cranes. The long journey is very exhausting for the animals. Nabu calls on interested citizens to report crane sightings on the website “Kranich-Hessen.de” to report. The data should help to better understand bird migration.
According to the information, the bird migration has been going on for about a week – on Wednesday alone, a good 10,000 animals were sighted over Hesse. The weather conditions were good that day.
The population of cranes has recovered in Germany since the 1970s
Still very rare at the end of the 1970s, crane populations have recovered somewhat since then, according to data from bird conservationists. According to Nabu, around 11,000 pairs breed in Germany. The birds, with their long necks and long legs, can be recognized by their ashen plumage – and also by their song, which has been described as “blaring trumpets”.
Cranes need moist areas such as wet meadows or raised bogs to breed. They have both a vegetable and animal diet, so eat larger insects, earthworms and other small animals, as well as field plants and berries. They also find leftover potatoes tasty.
Sources: “Hessen show“, “FAZ“, Nabu
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