The salt lake and its surroundings have long been an important resting place for Common Crane (Grus grus) on their way to the wintering grounds in southern Spain and north Africa. The number of Common Crane overwintering has been increasing steadily for several years, so that over 10,000 cranes can be found on the lagoon throughout the winter. At the peak of the migration, in late October and mid-February, more than 35,000 cranes were counted. Large flocks of Common Crane, of course, generally attract attention. Numerous Common Crane enthusiasts meet at well-known places such as the Darß, the Günzer See (both Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany), the Linumer Bruch, the Diepholzer Moorniederung (both Germany) or the Hornborga See in Sweden to witness this spectacle. In the meantime, it has been set up a special infrastructure for observation and photography in many places. If you are prepared to drive a bit further, bird-lens.com can recommend the large resting site for Cranes in the middle of Spain: the Laguna de Gallocanta in northeastern Spain, around 100 kilometers southwest of the city of Zaragoza.
The area in which the cranes are located is a plateau with a steppe-like character and a moderate agricultural use. A wide, undeveloped, flat landscape is framed by picturesque mountain ranges – unfortunately, today spoiled with large wind turbine parks. Birding observation towers offer a good view of the resting sites in the Continue reading Laguna de Gallocanta and its Common Cranes
