South-West wind prevent mass migration

Until last weekend, 86,000 cranes were still in the Darß-Zingst Bodden chain and the island Rügen. This ongoing high number of cranes in this region is mainly due to continuous south-west wind. In general, most cranes continue their journey to the wintering grounds in Spain and France after a few days to weeks of resting and feeding in this region. However, flying with headwind costs much more energy why most birds were waiting for better flying conditions.

These conditions were partly fulfilled on Monday and Tuesday where a distant high pressure weather condition induced sunshine and weak wind. As a result, some cranes departed to their next stopover in the Diepholzer Moorniederung (Germany) or even to the Lac du Der Chantecoq (France). How many cranes departed remains unclear, but there are still thousands of the impressive birds in the Darß-Zingst Bodden chain and island Rügen.

If you enjoy watching cranes we would like to welcome you at the KRANORAMA at the Lake Günz (daily opened between 09:00 am and 06:00 pm) and the NABU-Crane Centre in Groß Mohrdorf (daily opened between 09:30 am and 05:30 pm).