Bird migration Record number of cranes have crossed Switzerland
A crane migration of around 800 individuals recently flew over Switzerland. According to the Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach, never before have so many birds been counted in Switzerland at once.
29.10.2024, 11:46
29.10.2024, 11:52
SDA
The start to this year's bird migration season is therefore very promising. Several very large flocks of cranes have already been observed, the Swiss Ornithological Institute wrote on Tuesday. Record numbers of migrating cranes have also been reported in neighboring Bavaria. The migration season for cranes has only just begun.
According to the ornithological institute, anyone who looks carefully at the sky these days and pricks up their ears might be lucky enough to see the impressive birds. With their loud, trumpeting calls, they are very conspicuous when they fly south in the typical V formation.
Cranes are known for their traditional migration routes, as the ornithological station further explained. The westernmost migration route leads from Scandinavia and north-eastern Europe in a very narrow corridor to the south-west and ends in Spain. Another route leads from Finland via Hungary and Italy to North Africa. This means that Switzerland is not actually directly on a "crane highway".
This makes the current spectacle over the Swiss sky all the more remarkable.
