Since mid-October, Haute-Marne has been regularly flown over by formations of common cranes, present at Lac du Der since the start of the migration season. A peak was observed on Sunday, November 3, with around 110 individuals above the village of Chatonrupt.
The flights of common cranes that appear in the sky of Haute-Marne often come from the northeast and head towards the west and Lac du Der. Further south of the lake, the formations of these migratory wading birds move towards their wintering places, in southern Europe, via the Atlantic or Mediterranean coast.
Large groups of cranes pass at a height of a good hundred meters, while smaller groups fly over houses a few dozen meters away, or even less. In addition, some individuals travel in the middle of the night and are only detectable by their characteristic calls.
In the Vallage, for example, around twenty cranes flew over Chatonrupt on Wednesday October 16; then around 90 Tuesday October 22. If around thirty appeared on Sunday October 27, a much larger group was seen simultaneously above the neighboring village of Curel.
For several days, more than 40,000 birds have been present at Lac du Der permanently, departures being offset by arrivals. In total, it is estimated that more than 300,000 common cranes have passed through France since the start of the migration.
Sunday, November 3, more than 43,000 cranes were counted at Lac du Der. Three successive formations of common cranes followed one another above Chatonrupt for a total of around 110 specimens. It should be noted that most of these daytime flights occur at midday, in sunny weather. In these ideal conditions, the cranes take advantage of the thermal lifts generated by the warming of the ground in order to gain altitude without too much effort.
On the other hand, on Wednesday November 6, during the afternoon, the weather being clogged by fog and low clouds, only around twenty cranes flew over the houses in the village. Finally, these birds in search of food land on the agricultural plateaus which dominate the area of the two associated villages.
However, since the cranes are very shy, they remain difficult to approach. Those recorded at Chatonrupt are reported to the Bird Protection League (LPO) via the Garden Bird Observatory (LPO and Natural History Museum).
Remember that you can follow the migration of common cranes at Lac du Der, almost live, on the LPO Champagne-Ardenne website.
From our correspondent
Patrick Quercy
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