Overview

• More than 20,000 cranes flew over Hesse toward France on Monday in the first significant onward movement of the season, according to Nabu.
• Roughly 25,000 birds are concentrated at Gülper See, which local rangers describe as this year’s peak for that site.
• Nabu projects about 400,000 cranes will traverse Germany over several weeks, funneled along two main corridors toward France’s Lac du Der before continuing to Spain’s Extremadura.
• Typical peak reports in Germany arrive from late October into early November, with migration now occurring about two weeks earlier than 15 years ago and return flights starting mid-January to early February.
• Conservation groups urge viewing from vehicles or at a safe distance to avoid disturbance, with guided tours offered by Sielmann’s nature center in Wanninchen and by Naturwacht Brandenburg.