Common cranes are migrating back to the south

The common cranes are migrating back to their winter habitat in Africa. One of the biggest birds speciese taht can be seen here in Austria only during bird migration it the common crane, they travel in bigger flocks and during their flight either to the south or to the north they stop by at places with a lot of water like Rivers and bigger Lakes. The Inn River in Upper Austria or the lake Neusiedler in Burgenland is usually one of the places they stop by. Since they are one of the biggest birds that can be seen here in Austria, it is always very impressive to watch when they fly above you.

Common Cranes flying above me. Picture: Florian Glechner.

Birds have a big advantage over other species, because if they don't like a place, they simply can take off and look for a nice place from up above. But of course they still need enough wetlands where they can find enough insects and other food or they cannot live. So we humans need to watch over the few protected areas that are still left.