Crane train over the Bergisches Land: Spring brings thousands!

Crane train over the Bergisches Land: Spring brings thousands!

The first cranes reached the Bergisches Land this year. On February 11, 2025, the

The wintering areas of the cranes are diverse. While a large part linger in Spain and France, there are increasingly cranes in Germany, especially in cities such as Osnabrück, Bremen and Berlin, where the number of birds is between 5,000 and 10,000. But even with cold burglaries, many of these birds are withdrawn to France. It is particularly noteworthy that the cable behavior of the cranes is now influenced by climate change. Changes in temperatures and food availability can strongly influence the tension behavior and require an adaptation of the birds.

The changes in the train behavior of the cranes are partly attributed to climate change. bird and nature emphasizes that rising temperatures and irregular weather conditions significantly disrupt the migration of many bird species in Europe. Cranes benefit from the mild winters because they reduce their incentive to pull into warmer areas. These circumstances enable cranes to use the thermals in regions such as the Bergisches Land and thereby save energy costs that are incurred in the long journey into the breeding area.

A count in Spain and southern France showed that over 60,000 cranes could be recorded here. Interestingly, there is a continuous increase in the crane stock, which has grown from around 40,000 to over 150,000 since the 1980s. Protection measures have contributed significantly to the creation of additional breeding places that optimally promote the habitat of the cranes.

The train paths of the cranes

In Europe, cranes use different train paths that depend heavily on their breeding area. According to kraniche.de , the birds from Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Baltic States move over Germany and further to their winter quarters in France and Spain. The Western European cranes in particular are affected by this trend; They tend to shorten their train paths and move their wintering areas closer to the breeding grounds. In northwestern Germany, many cranes hibernate near their breeding areas, which shows a close connection between brood care and train behavior.

Overall, it can be seen that the mass of the cranes will move through the Bergisches Land until the end of their train time and over 1,000 birds can be observed in one day on optimal days. The Bergisches Land thus remains an important resting place for these impressive birds, which are faced with challenges both through climate change and human protective measures.