Crane weather

Cranes, 4th March 2013

Last night (18th February) just before 9:30 we heard the unmistakeable bugling of a flight of Common Cranes passing overhead. Impossible to tell how many: we guessed about 60. They were heading up the Aigronne in a generally East-North-East direction. Two hours later, another, bigger (noisier) flight passed over, this timie heading due North. We recorded that one as at least 300, but still it was very much a guess.

Knowing that big flocks of migrating birds occasionally show up on weather radar, I had a look this morning at the Meteo60 web site. The radar map showed two blue streaks leading North-Northeast from the Paris basin toward the Belgian border. The satellite view showed clear skies. I am willing to bet that these blue streaks were cranes, thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of them.

Rain Radar map 19 February 2017

When we zoomed in, the bigger of the two patches by far appeared to originate in a large area of marshland just north of the river Oise between Creil and Compiègne. These look ideal spots for cranes to roost overnight. At this higher level of detail, it was possible to see waves of birds on the animated radar map as they left their overnight pitstop. The other patch seemed to come from an area north of the Marne, not too far from the Lac du Der.

Sunset squadron, 8th March 2013

By confirmation, the LPO Champagne-Ardennes site grus-grus records a massive movement of cranes over the past 24 hours. In Hesse, southern Germany, thousands passed overhead at night. Yesterday's map includes, for a change, records from Indre-et-Loire! Something tells me the crane-watchers in Hesse are going to have a busy day today.

Cranes alert

They're on their way!

The great migration of common cranes (grue cendrée, grus grus) southwards has started. On September 24, Alain Gendeau in Limousin reported:

Over my area the first cranes have been seen. The 12 september 2014 around 30 cranes and the 17 september 2014 ; 20 cranes over Limousin France.

Martin Kraft, in Marburg, Germany, reported

Yesterday, Sept. 23rd 2014 at 7.30 p.m. the first 16 cranes passed the Marburg area to the SW.
Today, Sept. 24th 2014 at 11.43 a.m. 21 cranes flew SW some 5 kms  southwest of Marburg.

This morning, Pekka Mustakallio in Finland reported:

In Finland was the great migration 23.9.14: In Sauvo (25 km SE from Turku) 23000 migrating cranes (the finnish record/day).
We have ringed in this year 105 crane with colorring.
I am waiting again with great interest for the colorring observations! We have a new countrycode black-yellow-yellow.

Be on the lookout for Finnish cranes with black, yellow and yellow rings on their legs!

For many years, the European Crane Working group, with the support of the LPO Champagne-Ardennes, has been monitoring the progress of crane migrations throughout and beyond Europe.

The current status of the 2014 migration can be found on their web site here. The common language between all the European groups is English. If you see any cranes, you can record observations directly via the Visionature database (if you are a member), or you can fill in and return the online form (formulaire spécifique). Either of these two methods is very easy, and any record of the crane migration is valuable.I've used both methods, so please let me know if you need any help.

Flying South.... Southwest... 'ish...

A very large flight of Cranes [Grus grus] came over very late on Friday evening...
it was almost totally dark, with low cloud, and we didn't see them.

But Pauline heard them first...
through the double glazing and with the radio on...
and the tap running!

They must have been quite low and directly overhead...
They had a 7.2 kph tail wind to assist them and vanished into the distance at amazing speed...

Boy, were they a'bugling!!
Their conversations were probably on the lines of...

"Told you it would turn nasty this week... we should have left much earlier!!"

"Yes, dear... you've been repeating that all the way! Can we change the subject now, please!!"

... and from the juvenile wing...

"Are we there yet?!"

More of a flutter than a twitter... but a few tweets included!

And I don't mean a gamble, either...

The beginning of the end of October and there are still plenty of butterflies around...
Yesterday I saw dozens of Speckled Woods [Pararge aegeria] Tircis as I walked around the meadow to assess this Winter's tree and land work...

There is an ant trying to hitch a lift here... or else he's practising his scales!!

also, in the potager area we still have appreciable numbers of Clouded Yellows and a few Peacocks, Red Admirals and the odd Map...

Clouded Yellow... they never stay still!!

and on the 15th an utterly mad Humming-bird Hawkmoth working the Gaura flowers in the front bed...
in the teeming rain!!
Needed its antennae checking, that one!!

The Chiffchaffs are still here in good numbers...
I saw the first of the seasons Great White Egrets in the long field on the left as I drove from Grand Pressigny towards Abilly...
and Pauline saw a Crane [Grus grus] Grue Cendre yesterday...
just the one trumpeting away... and flying North East...
must have taken off early that morning, got so far...
and then realised that everyone else had stayed put at the previous nights stopover!!
The Black Redstarts are still around and the Robins are back!

A bit of Eperon de Murat news...
Pauline and I went to Ferrière-Larçon on Thursday evening to see what the new plans for the site were...
it was a presentation by the Conservatoire du Patrimoine Naturel de la Région Centre.

Hopefully...
a walkway from the road to the Murat farm to the main fields of the site itself...
and a pathway round...
the mayor, Gérard Henault, bemoaned the current main access that requires people to be "below 30 years old and have alpiniste skills"...
and the fact that he is getting no help at all on purchasing the farm itself...
the intention being to turn it into an interpretive centre, housing permanent and occasional displays as well as providing shelter for visitors in inclement weather.
Then, a couple of people in the audience {owners of Murat?} started arguing about the size of the plaque [about a foot square, apparently]...
and I was reminded of a meeting long ago when a committee I was involved with spent three hours discussing the first item on the agenda...
of vital importance, of course...
the colour of the cover of the college diary!!
[If I'd been the chair that would have gone to a sub-committee!!!!]

And then comments were made about the size of the car park...
if it was for more than two cars it was going to be too big!!
"We don't actually want people to visit"... was the opinion of the very vocal minority...
the same couple who were concerned that a foot square sign was going to be too big!

Actually, neither do the guardians of the site want too many visitors...
understandable, considering the rare plants & insects and the ancient fortifications...
so they are intending to install infra-red footfall counters in a couple of places...
it was also pointed out that it is about a kilometre from the proposed car park to the site itself...
many people will satisfy themselves with any display that may be at the farm and drive on, mentally ticking it off as "visited".

There are too many trees now on the site... especially the junipers... mainly there through neglect / lack of management and the current sheep are too selective [read fussy] and are not munching them properly...
they really ought to use Scottish Black Faced sheep...
not as fussy, about the only thing they won't eat is Nardus stricta [Mattgrass] which is too siliceous for even them...
the Wildlife Trusts use these for their "Flying Flocks"...
as do the LPO [who advertise their excess for sale at the back of L'Oiseaux magazine...
along with their excess Highland cattle! 
I'm tempted by the latter for here... 
only tempted mind!]

So these, along with the trees that have rooted into the defensive wall [vallum] and are slowly destroying that, must be controlled with more vigour!!
Major snag here...
removing the trees on the vallum will lead to erosion of the unprotected wall....
so a long roof will need to be constructed until other vegetation establishes...
don't hold your breath on that one...
apart from the obvious cost...
the example shown [from elsewhere] met with assorted gasps and disapproving grunts!!
It did look ugly... like a poorly built wood store!!

The two speakers were very poor, though...
the first swallowing the latter half of most of her sentences...
and the other spoke at the computer screen all the time!
Fortunately, monsieur le Maire often sub-titled what was being said by his comments!!

More interesting and understandable was the PowerPoint presentation... including two aerial views of the site...
one from 1950 showing all the little fields and very few trees...

Look at all the very little fields in the top right corner...
and the vallum is already marked by a tree line...
the smaller wall [muraille] is just visible as a faint line almost the same distance from the main wall...
as the main wall is from the tip.

and one from 1970 showing one vast field over all but the tip of the protected area!!

So we watch with interest....
whilst I can still manage to scramble up from the stile at the bottom, Pauline cannot...
so effectively is barred from the barré!!

Solstice slice up!

The White Wagtails [Motticilla alba alba] Bergeronnette grise are back...
they are not real migrants, but there is a movement south each year...
as with the Robins and Blackbirds...
if we see them over winter they won't be our local birds.

White Wagtail... watching something...

But it looks like we've got an ex-pat trying to muscle in....

In the UK the Pied Wagtail [Moticilla alba yarrellii] rules the roost...
However, I noticed a Pied Wagtail here two days ago, and he is still here...


Because of the terrible weather that is slowing the Cranes' migration northward...
and a colder than normal winter in the UK that caused Waxwings to be seen as far south as the Scillies...
this male Pied has travelled further south than normal...
and I think he likes it here...
probably for much the same reasons as we do!!

This morning I saw him again and went to photograph him....
only for him to fly off...
c'est la vie...
but the White Wagtails were there instead...
I decided to capture their portraits as well...


You will see that the one above is looking upward....
like Pauline and the owl yesterday, I couldn't see the whole picture through the lens...
suddenly all hell broke out...
he'd seen the male Pied coming down...
and the male pied attacked... they flew off towards the longére...
where I managed to catch the fight!

There are two birds here... the Pied Wagtail is the visible one!

And the fighters ascend

The Pied Wagtail is clearly the stronger... he's the one with his back to the camera!

The whirling dervishes... the Pied has his feet on the White's neck!

The Pied stayed dominant... and shortly after this, the White managed to break free.

In that last picture, the difference between the two sub-species is very clear...
the greater amount of black on the Pied [left in the picture] includes the underwing...
the White on the right is very clearly much greyer.

I managed a picture of the Pied Wagtail...

Terrible focus... but it shows the colours nicely.

And the White Wagtail for comparison.

Oooops! The White male has just been chased into the door by the Pied.... he's OK, I checked... standing close to his missus by the edge of the path...
I wonder if the Pied will stay, and try and see off the male of an established pair, or whether the pair bond will be the stronger?

And I've just seen the Black Redstart [Phoenicurus ochruros] Rougequeue noir....

The male in all his dinner jacket glory!

Spring is here...
despite the weather!!

Grues in the News

Out of the sun...

This weekend's influx of cranes moved La Nouvelle République to include an article in Thursday's Touraine Est edition with some interesting facts along with the usual purple prose. My attempt at a translation follows.

When the common cranes pass by ...
After a dreary winter, one looks out for all possible signs of the return of spring. And in that matter, nature has been particularly generous in the last few days. Numerous Tourangeaux have been able, notably on Monday afternoon, to observe impressive flights of cranes on spring migration.

"more than a metre long and with a wingspan up to 2.4 metres"

Several thousand of these big birds (more than a metre long and with a wingspan up to 2.4 metres), crossed the skies of Touraine on Monday afternoon, provoking marvelling comments from those who had the luck to see them. "Superb and extraordinary", "Grand spectacle", "It's magical, nature!", one could hear from witnesses, their eyes riveted towards the sky. Every year, it's the same ritual: the common cranes (Grus grus), which have wintered in southern Spain and Morocco, fly back to their nest sites (Denmark, Scandinavia, Poland, Russia) following a corridor about 200km wide which crosses our region via Indre, Cher, southern Loir-et-Cher and the Loiret, brushing Indre-et-Loire, where it is not rare to see flights. What is much more, by contrast, is the scale the phenomenon took this year.The atmospheric conditions of these last few days (strong east winds) have effectively shifted to the west the course of the birds.
The migration began in mid-February in Spain where it reached an end, according to observations, last Sunday. In Indre-et-Loire, the first flights were spotted on 18th and 20th February. After, nothing more, or almost, until Sunday, when about fifty cranes were seen near Villeperdue [not counting the ones we saw].
And it was Monday when the major part of the troupe passed by. The first sightings took place about 12:30 at Bossay-sur-Claise, the last at Neuillé-Pont-Pierre at 8pm. Between these times, several thousand birds flew over the Tours area, notably in the end of the afternoon. On Tuesday, a few latecomers (the gruppetto?) followed the peloton at a good distance.

God speed big birds!

At the same time, one could have seen several dozen white storks, notably over the Bretonnières lake at Joué-les-Tours, and some greylag geese.
Definitely, that has the whiff of spring! Except for the swallows: we must wait a little longer for them...

And not stopping for a weather check!!

The Daily Bugle... full story!

Posted just after midnight... so yesterday is Sunday and this report is for Monday 4th...
Blodger was playing up like crazy.

It's been a good couple of days for the sighting of Common Crane [Grus grus] Grue cendrée...

Four of the sunset flight today!

Yesterday at around 2:30pm a flight of 58 birds...

followed today by a flight at around the same time of 61 birds, well split up...

then... another flight at 3:28 of 70 individuals in two groups...

we then heard but didn't see birds at 4:30'ish and towards 5pm.

A tremendous noise at 6:10pm heralded a flight of 100 cranes, split into two groups flying almost together...

Wither goest thou?

and then to cap it all... at 6:25 a flight of 31 came flying out of the sunset... straight over us.

Out of the sunset they came!

Wing tips shining in the setting sun...

But it wasn't over... after dark I was busy building bee nestboxes for the solitary bees and heard three more groups before 8pm!


262 birds seen today...
plus who knows how many were in the groups we heard?
A major movement through our area...
never observed such a continuous succession of flights in one day before.

The wind was from almost due South all day and, in the constant sunshine, the temperature peaked at 18.5 °Centigrade at around 5pm.
They must have thought it was the perfect day to move on!

The big Carpenter bees were out... scouting for holes...
Pauline heard a Skylark practising...
I put up a pair of Sandpipers from the middle of the meadow...
not sure which of Green or Wood they were...
both have white rumps and both are here at this time of the year...
they jinked away too fast...

And we got some nestboxes up...

T'was a grand day, Grommit!!

The Daily Bugle

Twittering again...
we've had cranes over at intervals all afternoon...
heading straight down the Aigronne Valley.
Both sides of us and just five minutes ago....
straight overhead.
Full blog entry later...

First Cuckoo of Spring...

Almost the end of February and things are moving....
I heard a Cuckoo as I walked back from checking the post...
fortunately there was none as it would have ended up on the ground.
It was most likely passing through on its way North...
but nice nonetheless!!

Also GrusGrus are saying that large movements of Cranes are occurring in Gallicanta...
so keep your eyes open!

And just now [19:13] we've seen the Barn Owl hunting over the meadow in the evening dim!
I went out to get a better look and followed it over the bief into the field next to the potager...
at which point I had to check my eyes...
something else white was moving...
yes!
There were two, wheeling around each other...
and then they separated and one came back across the meadow...
the otherhunting over the fields either side of the road...
too late now to get them to use the barn owl box...
or the owl slot...
they'll have found a nesting point... and it must be near!
We'll keep you posted.

Until then, here's another of my brother's Barn Owl pictures to keep you entertained...

Nick took this at Sculthorpe Moor near Fakenham in Norfolk

The Sculthorpe Moor flickr site is well worth a visit... 

Nick took this picture on February 8th.

Grues...STOP, grues!! Part the second of a good Sunday out.

Having left the hide at Purais, we returned to the car. Just before we got there we heard what sounded like the "grue" of a crane.
We both stopped stock still and listened for another... but no, it was just the one, difficult to locate... but behind, the way we'd come...
Continued to get sorted and into the car... Carpe Frites awaited.

We continued on our way, slowly, towards the Maison du Parc at le Bouchet, but saw little other than more Great White Egrets.

The car park was almost empty at the Maison...
parked, went in, restaurant had about half-a-dozen people in....
"table pour deux, SVP"...
have you reserved?
No we hadn't...
"Desolé"... they were full...
some comfort shopping in the 'boutique' was called for!
Yet again... NO CARPE FRITES!!

We had a look around the exhibition en-route through the shop....
it was on Eco-building... and there was a very good photo exhibition as well.
Back down the stairs and we found a new book...
Les plus belles balades du Parc naturel régional de la Brenne
[The nicest walks in the Brenne National Park] published 2011...
explains why we hadn't seen it before!!
we will be doing some of these this year...
but, typical of French walks books, a 7km walk will take you 2hrs...
not if you've got binos and/or camera with you it won't!

The book and a peek inside... note the illustration of the correct IGN map for the walk... but NO latin names!
[However, there are Latin names for some of  the  fauna shown in the identity guide at the back]

We also bought a get-well card for Céléstine...
a perfectly apt Hirlay cartoon...
then we set off for the Étang Foucault.

We went down via the Étang de la Mer Rouge... but apart from a rather nice 'blasted' tree...
pile of wood to some, habitat or feeding station to others... and yet another Great White Egret!
So carry on via the D20 towards Rosnay [pronounced Ronnae] overtaking a couple of cyclists.
Suddenly Pauline yelled "Grues...STOP, grues!!"
There, to our left were three Common Cranes... feeding in an ex-Maize field...
camera in back of car... creep out of driver's door...
[thank goodness we were in the re-registered old Merc... right-hand drive!]
Extract camera from bag and slowly rise over top of car...
cranes didn't seem at all worried... just kept feeding [same as when Simon and Susan saw them the other day.]

Took some pictures... but they were a little distant, even for the long lens.

Just milling around in the maize stalks...

and marching in line.

But... it was Pauline's first ever sighting of cranes on the ground... and my second.
The first being in the late '70s at Hickling in Norfolk. It was the first to be seen...
and I was out walking with the "thenwife" and the dog...
didn't even know what all the fuss was about until I asked one of the hordes looking out over the broad...
and I think we were probably the only ones to actually see it... it was feeding, like these three were, in a field... behind them!

The cyclists came up and asked what we were watching...
"Les Grues"... "oh, yes", came the reply as they glanced in the general direction of the troupe...
obviously an everyday occurrence for them.
They asked to look at the map as they wanted the Maison du Parc.... back the way they'd come....
but, having looked at the map, they decided to carry on via the long route.
That delayed us a little, fortunately, because seven minutes after the first pictures I was taking pictures of more!

We'd just turned up the D27 to Rosnay when there were four more, right by the road...
on the nearside of the car....
                       and where was the camera....
                                            in the bag, in the back of the car....

yet again!

I'd pulled up a little beyond the opening in the rather decayed hedge the we'd seen them through, so it was out of the car very, very slowly...trying to keep my head beneath the hedge top.
Got the camera and turned round even more slowly... taking the first shots through the hedge...so I moved into the gap in the hedge... they weren't at all concerned... just kept walking and feeding.

Cranes do Country... or line dancing to all but the French.

It seems that either they are not concerned by the presence of people... or feeding is a priority....
when one stopped to have a good scratch, I leant towards the former conclusion.... we don't worry them....
a nice feeling that these huge birds are more concerned about living.

When you gotta scratch... you just gotta scratch!!

Pauline noticed on Grus-Grus, when we got home, that 25,000 had been reported leaving Spain on Saturday... so they were  probably spread all over the Brenne.... fuelling up for the next leg!

Onward and upward?

Watched them walk over the crest of the field and then it was on towards Rosnay...
wow, what a sight, cranes that close.
Rosnay on the horizon with the masts of the Nato communications centre towering over it...
Left just through the village and past the triple fence... all electrified...  
No Photos, No Stopping.... cameras facing the road.... tank traps.... were there mines?
It is probably a wildlife haven, though! Most bases and Army ranges are.

Had there been space in the restaurant... we wouldn't have seen these... I don't mind missing me Carpe Frites if I see things like this...The next part is the Étang Foucault.... and can the day get better.... yes it can!

Cranes today

Just as we got back from a shopping trip at 5:30 this afternoon, Pauline was closing the gate when she heard that unmistakeable trumpetting from the direction of the wood across the road. A flight of cranes was passing behind the wood and heading away from us towards the northeast - too far away to photograph or count. Tim thought there could be a couple of hundred.
They came over last year on the 21st and you will see from records with that entry, our record from 2008 shows we saw them on the 24th. Looking at last years pictures, this group seemed to be much the same size.

21/11/2001 - A movement of Cranes

We had three successive flights of Common Crane [Grus grus] Grue cendrée name over yesterday. Plus another two at least that we heard but didn't see. It is the latest we've seen them [it is after all almost December!!] and this is an entry just to put the fact on record.
[And to allow me to put some new pictures up....]

Stacking cranes.
This was the first flight of nine.

Six of Nine

Nine of Nine

Stacked - ready to glide

A thin ribbon of twenty cranes.... the second flight.

The third flight [14 individuals]....
the best shot of this bunch..
the autofocus on the camera was having great difficulty staying in touch!!

But the weather is very strange at the moment... the weather hit a balmy 19.6 Centigrade yesterday too! On Sunday we saw butterflies, Clouded Yellow [Colias crocea] le Souci being quite notable with its egg-yolk yellow colouring... and the Ivy [Hedera helix] Lierre is still alive with late feeding insects. All these insects are really quite important... the bats are still around!!

In the potager we are getting sprouts, still, from our "Tender-stem" brocolli. We've had a late crop into November before, but these are still producing a two servings worth a week in the fourth week of November!
There are still numerous wild flowers around.... most obvious are the Nettle-leaved Bellflower [Campanula trachelium] Campanule Galantelée and also Knapweeds, Scabious and Meadow Clary [Salvia pratensis] Sauge des Prés. But it also means that the trees I need to work on this winter are not yet dormant... oops! But, still, I've plenty to keep me going on the bricolage [D.I.Y.] side

We're late, we're late for a very important date!

Or....

1st Crane "Where are all the others?"
2nd Crane "Told you we shouldn't have stopped for coffee!"

1st Crane "We didn't stop long."

2nd Crane "Yes, but if you'd had a double espresso like me, you'd be all fired up to fly faster! Instead, you had to have a grand café créme...."

At 4:15 pm a pair,.... yes, just a pair, of Common cranes [grus grus] flew over our house.
There were no others to be seen.... and we didn't hear any either.

But they were desperately trying to form a V!!

Spring is on its way - part III

Two Green Woodpeckers and "Pickle"*

Yesterday morning, we saw our first swallow (hirondelle) flying over the house. This morning, Tim watched a pair of green woodpeckers (pic vert) searching for insects in the verger and two kingfishers (martin pêcheur) zipped past the kitchen window, heading down the millstream like two brilliant blue darts [and too fast to capture on film!]. To top it all, a flight of cranes came by, on their usual ENE flightpath. The red squirrels were clambering about in the alders next to the Aigronne, and the water vole chugged past on an errand.

Green Woodpecker concentrating!
[Not the greatest of pix.... handheld through telescope and double-glazed windows!]

[* For "Pickle" see De la Bonne Bouffe]

Cranes again!

This afternoon just before 3pm, we heard a single "greueueue" as a formation of 24 cranes flew over the house. It's been a lovely day today, enough to bring out brimstone and peacock butterflies, and setting the skylarks singing too. The crane formation broke up as the birds encountered the thermals over the sun-baked south-facing scarps of the Aigronne.

Just some of the cranes almost overhead.

They spiralled upwards in a loose group, but the east wind carried them over towards le Grand-Pressigny - sunwards - and they were obviously struggling to keep their ENE direction. They were pointing that way, but heading ESE. They were still trying to gain height when they disappeared from view.

Circling in a thermal... 2nd from left and one at bottom seem to be using the undercarriage!?

Two fighter jets whizzed over at the same height as the birds - heaven help the crew if they hit a crane!

Going away... with the sun glinting on their wings.

Crane migration!

Two flights of cranes just came overhead along the Aigronne valley, heading east and gruuuing like champions. About 300 altogether. Sorry no pix! Weather mild (10C), overcast with showers, very light winds S/SW/W less than 3kph.

4:15 Second flight just passed over this time heading ENE, about the same number. Got some pix this time....
but light very poor [it was about to pour!] so silhouettes only...

Just 177 of them... using long lens...wrong lens [couldn't get them all in!!]

The lead group almost overhead.

Continuing to hear more cranes, not within sight.

This is the earliest sighting yet for La Forge. Our previous records are:
24/2/2008
Clear sunny day, warm wind w/sw moderate. Large flock gathering over Etableau and flew off NE in 3 large skeins upward of 200 birds. Followed by second group. Noise incredible!
10/03/2009
Cranes flying ENE 5:45 pm approx 60 common cranes after rainy day quite mild, wind almost due west, quite strong.
03/03/2010
2 flights of cranes flying ENE - one over Grandmont 4pmish of around 100-150 and one over Bezuard at 18:06 of 150 - 200. The ones over Grandmont circled gaining height for about 4 minutes.
(04/03/2010 Alex Crawford reported a huge flight low over Les Limornières at 9 that morning)

Four...directly overhead!