Cranes are larger than white storks, their plumage is predominantly a light blue-grey. In Baden-Württemberg, the birds are rarely seen. But especially these days it is worth keeping your eyes open during the day and your ears open at night.
Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – On their way to warmer regions, cranes are stopping in Baden-Württemberg these days. The second half of October to the beginning of November is the typical time, said Stefan Bosch, specialist officer for bird protection at the Naturschutzbund (Nabu) Baden-Württemberg, the German Press Agency. During the day it is worth keeping an eye out for the large gray birds with a wingspan of around two meters migrating in wedge formation. The animals are also out and about at night – their trumpeting calls can be heard from afar.
The birds crossed Germany via two main routes en route from Scandinavia to their wintering grounds in southwestern Europe and northern Africa. The southern one leads from the Baltic Sea via Thuringia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate to France. “Actually, you only see the animals in northern Baden-Württemberg, in the Mannheim region,” said Bosch. But this year, in the past two weeks, a good three dozen observations of smaller crane flocks have been sighted in all parts of the country. “That’s something extraordinary.”
Possible reasons could be food shortages or the weather. When there was a headwind, cranes took a break or looked for a different route. Due to bad weather conditions, animals had recently been backed up for days before departure in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
According to Bosch, around 8,000 pairs breed in Germany – mainly in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein in swamp forests and moors. It’s a great success, he said. In 1972 there were just 17 breeding pairs in Germany. After that, people would have chased cranes less and watered down bogs again. The crane (Grus grus) is therefore currently not considered endangered in this country.
The birds, which are often more than a meter tall, sometimes eat small insects and worms, as Bosch said. “But they’re more vegetarian.” So they plundered what was left on the fields after the harvest, such as leftover grain or potatoes.
