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A sign of Spring - the first Cranes have arrived

Anything by Hans Ingvar , 10 March 2009

Geo tags: ölme värmland 

Descriptive tags: crane nature birds 

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Today, the 10th of March, I saw the first Cranes. At Ölme, in Värmland, the cranes fly by twice a year - in March they come from North Africa and Spain to mate and rear their offspring. In August/September they pass by on their way south. Most years they pass right over Ölme and you can see them flying high in the sky (making a very special and rather loud noise). They also rest on the fields at this northern end of the big lake Vänern. Usually they stop for quite some time, they eat the crops, or spiring buds on the fields. (And thus are not especielly well liked by the farmers). A Crane (in latin called Grus Grus) is a gigantic bird that can be 115-130cm long/big. The wingspan is somewhere round 2 meters. They can eat quite alot of the crops! In Värmland the coming of the Cranes is a sure sign that Spring is on it's way. Most of the Cranes we see probably come from the lake Hornborga, a lake area where Cranes meet to perform their mating dance. This is quite a phenomen - thousands of birds gaher for a few weeks every Spring and perform an intricate dance at this Swedish lake. For more information about the dance and lke Hornborga see http://www.hornborga.com/eng/index.asp On this site you can also see pictures of Cranes. See "Seasons at the lake - a slide show". Picture 56 is of Cranes.

In Ölme, Värmland, the Cranes are a sure sign of Spring. Today, March 10th, I saw the first 4 Cranes on the fields of Ölme.
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  • Yes, they are great. They have been gone for a while though, since the snow and cold returned, but just this evening I saw twenty or so fly over the house.

    By Hans Ingvar , 26 March 2009

  • What a great event. I had seen the cranes in germany last autumn.

    By Wolle Schm, 24 March 2009

  • Thank you for your information about the cranes. We have had some Canada Geese fly over Kelowna recently. Some years, we have some that stay the winter, but I don't think they did this year. I guess we can look forward to spring's soon arrival.

    By Deana Lindquist, 16 March 2009

  • Hans Ingvar...thank you for such a detailed info about the beautiful Cranes..They are amazing...It sure is good to see that they return..and spring is on its way..Thank you for sharing :-))) Enjoy them for all of us..since you are closer!

    By Gittan Klemetsrud, 12 March 2009

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