COMMON CRANE IN FRANCE
Migration and wintering – season 2000/2001
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COMMON CRANE IN FRANCE Migration and wintering – season 2000/2001 |
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Post-nuptial migration 2000 Wintering 2000-2001 Pre-nuptial migration 2001 Pre-nuptial migration – 2001 |
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The first movements January 15 – February 3 |
Pre-nuptial migration starts early (on January 15) with some flights noticed in Auvergne and Limousin but at the same time, some other cranes are still flying towards the South-west until the day after ! That very day, some cranes are noticed flying towards the two directions ! However that period does not concern a lot of birds though some cranes are noticed everyday. In fact most of the observations come from the sites of Lorraine and Champagne that cranes are leaving (on the 25 there are only 11,000 cranes left at the Lac du Der-Chantecoq). Some other cranes noticed during that period come from the sites of Aquitaine : there are only 28,190 individuals left on the 25 at Arjuzanx and 23,290 on the 31. But in reality a total of at least 25,000 cranes are already back in Germany, but the migration flights have not been noticed very often. What way have those cranes chosen ? |
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Small waves easily noticed February 4 to 10 |
New leavings of Aquitaine are noticed on the 4 : at least 2,000 cranes (which are this time well followed along their migration lane) are noticed flying from Dordogne to Loiret. On the 5, there are still more than 41,000 common cranes in Aquitaine (24,190 at Arjuzanx and 17,200 at Captieux). That little increasing could be due to early birds coming from Spain. On the 6, at least 2,500 leave Aquitaine and are seen in Loiret. The following days are quieter even if 1,000 birds leave Aquitaine on the 10. All this gives us a total of more than 6,000 cranes crossing France during one week. |
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Map 5 : Total number of Common cranes during the first wave (11 and 12 February 2001)
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The first big wave February 11 and 12 |
In the morning of the 11, there are only 9,570 cranes at the Lac du Der-Chantecoq but we count 2,200 individuals in Argonne (Marne). That very day and also the day after, more than 11,500 birds fly across France along the usual lane. Those cranes come from Aquitaine. This map clearly shows that the movements do concern cranes leaving the South-west. The good meteorological conditions of that period enable cranes to fly quickly so the ones staying at the Lac du Der also fly away. |
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Other important flights February 13 to 18 |
On the 13, there are only 16,000 common cranes left in Aquitaine (11,810 at Arjuzanx and 4,450 at Captieux). This shows the importance of the preceding leavings which were difficult to quantify if we consider the number of observations which were done. The number of cranes (5,000) which migrate during these 6 days is not so important (except on the 15 with 2,800 birds), and especially concerns cranes which were stopped in Aquitaine. |
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Map 6 : Total number of Common cranes
during the wave between the 19st
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The second big wave February 19 to 26 |
The most important movement of pre-nuptial migrating common cranes also takes place this year during the last days of February, like in the two years before. This movement is very dense and lasts 8 days. It is characterised by a strong renewal of birds at the stopping sites. The last cranes which have wintered in Aquitaine finish to leave the sites where they were stopped and at the same time we can notice cranes flying from Spain. Several thousands of birds fly across our country, mainly at night for the Spanish ones : 3,000 on the 19, 4,000 on the 20, 6,000 on the 21, 7,000 on the 22, 2,000 on the 23, 5,000 on the 24, 9,000 on the 25 and 4,000 on the 26. In the afternoon of that last day, we count 14,860 cranes at the Lac du Der-Chantecoq, which is the record of the season. The migration is very quick since there are only 6,790 cranes left on that site on the 27. However it is difficult to quantify the night migration but we can think that at least 40,000 cranes have flown across France during those 8 days! |
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End of the main movements February 27 – March 9 |
Migration is less dense but remains daily during that period. Some important
flights of cranes even pass on some days of the period. On March 1 and 2, it is
still 10,000 cranes which are noticed in migration in Limousin after having left
Spain. Many of those birds stop in Champagne since we count 11,000 cranes at the
Lac du Der-Chantecoq and 7,000 in Argonne in the morning of the 3. That very day,
3,000 cranes are noticed in migration in Limousin. Another movement is noticed
there on the 5 with again 3,000 individuals. That very day, there are only 480
cranes left at Arjuzanx. To end, on March 6, 7 and 8, the last important
movements are registered, which represent a total of 10,000 birds in 3 days.
Thus, on the 8 more especially, we count 8,000 cranes reaching the Lac du Der in
the evening. These birds leave the place the day after.
More than 30,000 cranes have then flown across France during those 11 days. |
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End of the migration March 10 to 22
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During that period, migration clearly slows down but the flights are still noticed daily. On the 11, a total of 1,000 cranes are noticed in migration, especially in Limousin. Many birds must have travelled at night. In fact, during 13 days, a quite important number of more than 10,000 cranes have flown across France since there were still more than 9,000 individuals at the Sotonera in Spain on March 11. |
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The late birds March 26 – April 16 |
Some flights are still noticed in some different places during that period.
Those cranes are immature and are not in a hurry to go back to Northern
countries. After the flooding of many valleys in the East of France, many cranes
often stop for several days. Thus we have noticed more than 300 individuals in
the Bar valley (Ardennes) on March 23. Later, the observations done in May
concern potential summering cranes. The total number of cranes counted during
the pre-nuptial migration towards the North-east is this year of at least
141,800 individuals.
This figure is very similar to the one found during the preceding autumn, which is more or less striking. If we do the average of the two migrations, we found a total of about 141,000 cranes which have flown across France. If we had to this figure the 3,000 birds which have wintered in Germany, we reach the total number of 144,000 cranes for the season 2000/2001, that is to say 15% more than the preceding year (125,000 cranes estimated thanks to the same method). Those results can seem to be over-estimated because of potential double counting, but they really seem to correspond to reality. |
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The French Crane Network |
Managed by the Champagne-Ardenne
League for the protection of Birds, the French Crane Network groups together all the
French organizations and associations which are more or less interested in the cranes. Its aim is that the members exchange all the pieces of information concerning the migration of this species in order to be able to tell the general public and the media about it. |
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Post-nuptial migration 2000 Wintering 2000-2001 Pre-nuptial migration 2001 |
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