Friday 19 November 2010

Les Grues Partent

We were excited when the cranes arrived as they signal the end of winter.


Yesterday we were no less excited to see the cranes again, but this time flying south. Even though we suspect that it means that winter weather is about to arrive, it is always exciting to see large flocks of enormous birds flying in formation. Seeing the cranes here in November is quite rare, as the usual migration route just bypasses us. Maybe if you feel a real need to see cranes then Lac du Der in the Champagne-Ardenne is the place to be - a record 74 500 cranes were counted there on Sunday and yesterday the movement of over 40 000 birds flying made national TV.

Here is the report, but I'm not sure how long it will work for.





Simon

8 comments:

Leon Sims said...

S&S,
Its the same all over the CD of Melbourne - there are cranes every where.
But they are building apartments and high rise buildings all over the place.
LOL.

Susan said...

Leon: It's the same word in French just like in English, you know.

Amanda said...

It must have been a beautiful sight.

Niall & Antoinette said...

Caught them circling over our house yesterday morning, before they headed off in their V formation in the direction of Obterre/Azay le Feron. Lovely to watch and hear.

Anna Johnston said...

Hi guys, came across your blog through David Lebovitz, had to say hi to some fellow Aussies living the dream in France.
Love these cranes, remember seeing them in my childhood flying in V's & also W's..., can't remember what each meant, think it had something to do with the weather.
Looking forward to connecting through the blogosphere.
cheers
Anna

Susan said...

Anna: Great to see you here, and what a lively blog you write! We've got a lot in common, btw - Simon grew up in Canberra and I trained in Hospitality Management.

SweetpeainFrance said...

How lovely... you must be in their flight path.. although Captain Sensible once saw them one year in Spring whilst I was in UK. Oh how I would love to witness this spectacle.

Susan said...

Sweetpea: It's unusual for us to see them in the autumn, and we don't always get them in the spring either. We are right on the edge of the migratory path.

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