Cranes

[Suninfrance]

A very large and noisy flock of cranes has just flown overhead.  Does this mean we are in for a cold winter as they seem to leaving earlier than last year?

Jan

[mint]

Haven't seen the cranes yet this year, suninfrance, but I thought I heard them a couple of days ago!

[chris pp]

No Jan, it doesn't mean that we are in for a cold winter, all the migrations are "running to schedule" so far as far as I know and remember that cranes are only partial migrants, some even spend the summer in France.

Chris

[Suninfrance]

Phew - that's a relief Chris.  Fantastic to see them though.

Jan

[odile]

WOW - lucky you for seeing them- personally I do hope for lots of snow this winter in the Jura.

[krusty]

A large noisy flock just flew over (5 pm) heading south classic v formation , or could they be geese ?

[mint]

I saw loads last year but have seen nothing this year [:(]

[HoneySuckleDreams]

dept 65. had a few small flocks over this week. some heading due south, others heading due west. They are a week later than last year.

[chris pp]

Follow the migration at the link and don't forget to log your observations at the same link, (all of France).

http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/point_sur_la_migration.htm

Chris

 

[mint]

Thank you, Chris.  Nice site!

[Dog]

[quote user="Suninfrance"]A very large and noisy flock of cranes has just flown overhead.  Does this mean we are in for a cold winter as they seem to leaving earlier than last year?

Jan
[/quote]

 

Was surprised yesterday - Boxing Day - to see 2 large Vs of cranes heading South. They are a bit late.

[water rat]

Us too, in the Centre 36. They've been heading south for a couple of days . I've never seen it this time of year.

W Rat

[chris pp]

I've copied this directly from "another place" from yesterday.

I think, in fact I'm sure, that I have written about this phenomenon before. It is not a "migration" where all the birds just get up and go from their summer breeding grounds and fly of to a single destination elsewhere. The "migration" is staggered and spreads itself over a large distance, some will stop in the north east of France, others will settle at certain places between there and Portugal. In addition there will be continual movements at any time from September until January.

Here is a copy of the situation recorded over the last four days, for more detail go to.
http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/

26/12
La migration continue : de nombreux vols sont observés dans les Landes, l'Allier, la Gironde, la Haute-Vienne, la Dordogne, la Nièvre, la Drôme, les Ardennes, en Belgique, au Luxembourg et en Hesse (2 357 grues en 29 vols)
25/12
Pas de trêve de Noël pour la migration. Le froid qui arrive pousse les grues à partir vers le sud. De nombreux mouvements sont signalés : dans l'Aube, la Charente, la Haute-Vienne (4 888 grues de 14h à 17h15 à Flavignac !), l'Indre, l'Yonne, la Gironde, la Dordogne, les Landes, les Hautes Pyrénées
Des vols observés également en Belgique, au Luxembourg et en Hesse (2 012 grues en 22 vols)
24/12
Peu de mouvements : quelques grues signalées dans l'Yonne.
23/12
Plus de 5 000 grues sont présentes sur les lacs Aubois.
Des passages signalés dans l'Yonne en fin de matinée et début d'après midi, le Loiret vers 14 h, le Cher de 15 h à 15 h 30, les Pyrénées-Atlantiques et la Gironde en débute de nuit.
22/12
13 897 grues sont comptées à Arjuzanx.
150 grues sont observées en migration en Haute-Vienne, plus de 200 en Charente, quelques dizaines dans l'Allier.

Chris

[Les Ponts]

Expect a lot of cranes flying overhead today - there was a huge number that left Spain yesterday which was described by ornithologists as a "historic day". From the same site that Chris uses see the following....... 

Gros départ de la Sotonera (Espagne) : 20 000 grues ont quitté les lieux entre 10h50 et 11h30 par très beau temps.
Les ornithologues espagnols qui suivent le site de Gallocanta (Espagne) décrivent la journée comme une journée historique pour la migration des grues. Des milliers de grues ont quitté la lagune dans la matinée et le soir, on en comptait encore près de 36 000 avec des arrivées nocturnes.
En fin de matinée de nombreux oiseaux passent dans la région du lac du Der, sans s'arrêter.
les Pyrénées-Atlantiques, les Landes, la Gironde, la Dordogne, la Charente, l'Indre, le Loiret, la Haute-Vienne (près de 6 000 de 17h à 18h45 à Flavignac), l'Aube (1 150 de 15h20 à 16 sur un seul site), la Marne, la Meuse, la Moselle, la Belgique et le Luxembourg.
Au moins 300 grues sur le site de Lachaussée dans la Meuse.

I've added my sightings for today (so far) on the Champagne Ardenne LPO website:  http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/formulaire_grues.htm  A couple of hundred over our village this morning and I've not even had my morning coffee!

[betoulle]

Wow what an amazing sight - not sure if all 20,000 passed over but we had a steady stream of flocks passing over our little bit of the Charente from 5.15 onwards......have never seen so many in such a short space of time - stunning.

[Nell]

We had lots over Brantome (dept 24) yesterday afternoon. Really high up in the sky. What a fantastic sight in a beautiful clear blue sky [:)]