12 hours ago
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Cranes heading south
I missed the returning Cranes this year; maybe they passed overhead at night.
There is something very moving about the annual departure of the Cranes, and their return in Spring. We always wave at them, and in this clip you can even hear Lady Magnon wishing them farewell.
I filmed this a few years ago (and have just rediscovered it). The huge V formation, and the beautiful sound they make, is stunning.
You may have to enlarge.
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Wondered what I was looking at till I enlarged! What a wonderful sight. I remember watching a v shape of geese flying overhead somewhere in England many years ago. Magical.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's not very clear, they fly very high up but you can always hear them coming (or going).
DeleteI remember the first time I saw them leaving, I couldn't figure out what the noise was.
ReplyDeleteYou can usually hear them way before they appear, and often, if they are really high, you won't even see them.
DeleteA great formation team
ReplyDeleteTerrible bit of filming, but I think it was one of the biggest formations we've seen.
DeleteBeautiful and very moving to see and hear birds like that.
ReplyDeleteIt's a surprisingly moving sight. I always feel very emotional when they fly over.
DeleteWe certainly missed them this year. The Dog always looks up and 'points' just like a setter should.
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like me. I do the same!
DeleteThey go south for warmer weather in the summer?
ReplyDeleteIn autumn they go South( France Spain) and in spring they fly back north. Wonderful birds.
DeleteCro, they passed through [a] very quickly at the end of February... about two weeks earlier than normal
ReplyDeleteand [b] travelled further South than normal.
We follow them on Grus-Grus, the LPO site for monitoring them...
We also missed them this year.
First big wave 12th feb, then 15 to 19th... then they couldn't cross the Pyrenees and were blocked in Spain.... that unblocked and the 23rd through to the 3rd of March saw again, vast waves.... the wind from the North East pushed them south!! By the 13th it waas all over!!
This is the LPO Champagne Ardennes tracking page if anyone is interested:
http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grue-cendree/migration-et-hivernage/la-migration-des-grues-cendrees-au-jour-le-jour
I've taken a note of the page; thanks. We never see a lot flying over, I think we are probably on the edge of their 'corridor'. The above was one of the biggest I've seen; it was much bigger that it looks.
DeleteYes, we are too... so the slightest deviation means we see none, or a few.... or about six years ago.... quite a few!! That was when there was some foul weather down south and the flights moved further north.
DeleteNext time i'll see them here on the way back i shall tell them "say hello to Cro"...sometimes i see them here at the end of the winter.
ReplyDeleteWe always wish them well, and say Goodbye or Welcome Home.
DeleteI enjoyed the video.
ReplyDeleteWe have many cranes here but I have never noticed them flying over in formation. However, we have what seems to be millions of geese flying over often and perhaps some have been cranes and I never noticed. They are all very loud.
Both Geese and Cranes fly in the same formation, so if they're very high up it would be difficult to differentiate.
DeleteThat's amazing. At the other end of the size spectrum, we always see the Ruby throated hummingbirds migrating south in Sept. The garden is full of them for a few days. We always do a riff on "Winter's coming". First sign of spring is seeing your first Robin.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds beautiful. I wish our Cranes would stop-over for a few days, but they keep going.
DeleteThe prevailing winds here have been different so far this year. We are getting a lot from the south which has seen temperatures reach a record 30 C.
ReplyDeleteOn Sunday on the Autobahn I saw the roadside device was recording 43 C (obviously not in shadow!) - Normally we'd be expecting cooler westerlies.
Stinking here yesterday, and quite chilly today. Is that what they call 'temperate'?
DeleteSub-tropical it is. An increasing number of strange new bugs. I mean the animal kind. We've just had a bit of a deluge. You've to look in the attic next time it rains the workman who fixed my roof said, so I'm doing that now.
DeleteWhat a beautiful sound they make Cro. Sorry you missed them this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very haunting sound Weave; once heard never forgotten.
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ReplyDeleteI find it very emotional every year. Yes, it's probably the 'Circle of Life' as you say.
DeleteI love the sound and the fact they fly like this every year. Beautiful.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
And they travel so far; from Scandinavia down to N Africa, then back again. It's a mammoth journey.
DeleteNo cranes here and some of the geese have started wintering here too. Otherwise watching the geese go was always wonderful (the foul the land so much).
ReplyDeletePeople say that Canada Geese make a mess of the land. I wonder why they're not shot for the table; maybe they don't taste too good.
DeleteI know people who do shoot them now that we are allowed to. However the numbers are just overwhelming. Their fear of humans is diminishing too. A pair nested within 30 yards of my hose a couple of years ago. I'd have been more frightened to go near them on the nest!
ReplyDelete