Discovering the migration of common cranes at Lac du Der

The Common Cranes return, every fall, as surely as Halloween on the calendar, leaving their Scandinavian cradle for the light of the Spanish winter.

Between the two, the islets of Der, an artificial lake emptying its waters until December, constitute their main break in France, near a nourishing pantry.

Insects, corn stubble, wheat seedlings… These large wading birds measure about four feet tall, utter an audible cry up to 4 km and get up every morning in a ceremony worthy of the Sun King to find their daily ration.

Of the 400,000 cranes expected, 90,000 have already passed through the fields of the Marne.

Bird train, local aperitif ...

We know this because regularly, about twenty volunteers are stationed at the edge of the lake and count the cranes taking off from the mudflats.

This year, however, the counts turned into a puzzle.

“We go on storms on layers of fog, it's complicated.

Too bad because we would have liked a figure before the start of the Festival, ”explains Aurélien Deschatres, at the Bird Protection League (LPO).

The last count dates back to October 10: 14,520 cranes.

“The workforce seems stable.

Migration is at a standstill due to mild temperatures and is expected to resume with the cold air inlets.

“If the figure may disappoint locally (up to 268,000 birds were counted on November 3, 2019), the external visitor will be content.

Read also Coronavirus: "Can birds carry the Covid-19 virus?"

Because after a “light” year, the Crane Festival is back in force and attracts many tourists. Boarding the "bird train" for a two-hour ride, local aperitif at sunset for the cranes, breakfast to get them up, daily presence of volunteers equipped with telescopes on the Chantecoq dyke, children's day on Wednesday 27 , "garden birds" show on Sunday 31st or sensory walks and stories on the neighboring ponds ... After this date, the cranes will still arrive until mid-November and some will even spend the winter here, before going up in search of the best breeding spots

“Migration is changing, and we can see it in the face of global trends.

In 1990, for example, the return peak was observed at home on March 15.

Today, it's almost over on the 5th because the months of February are milder.

It is positive for the education of young people, who earn two weeks.

Likewise, if the summer drought had been unfavorable to them so far (the crane nesting on the ground in marshy areas), the 2021 brood could have enjoyed a wetter summer.

"We therefore expect good populations," concludes the ornithologist.