the trumpet-like Calls from high above: Unusually early first cranes from their warmer winter are already roosts in the South of France and Spain are returned. Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland are on the main migratory route to their home in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, such as the naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu), which are in Mainz. “A little surprised I’m already”, says Nabu-biologist Fiona Brurein the German press Agency with a view to the early returnees. Climate change is a concern for many of the temporal shifts in the nature. For the time being, only a few cranes in the sky, but to see the main move is not expected until the end of February and in March, on days with suitable weather.
The up to 1.30 meters large birds are considered symbols of luck and fly high up in eye-catching V-formations of from 60 to 200 animals, with experienced and alternating animals at the top. Many bird friends to track this natural spectacle with binoculars and cameras. Cranes are guided on their flight in the direction of the North-East, according to Brurein rivers, forest edges and large cities. In Rhineland-Palatinate, drag along the Ahr, Mosel and Nahe. In Hesse you can fly over the Taunus and Fulda. Cranes like to start, if you have a tail wind.
According to the Nabu remains to be seen whether their very early return from the South, “is a good idea, or whether a stronger winter comes. The break-in remains off, have the early returnees are clear advantages in the scramble for the best breeding sites.“ In the Wake of climate change cranes breed in Germany. The focus of the North of Germany is, according to Brurein. Individual cranes but with climate change even further to the South, at home, for example, in North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony.
