AUTUMN MIGRATION: EURASIAN CRANE COMPLETES MIGRATION FROM ESTONIA TO ETHIOPIA
- Abraham Enoch
- Nov 13, 2015
- 4 min read
My Note:
Ahja 4
Researchers from the Estonian University of Life Sciences banded a juvenile Eurasian Cane in Estonia last summer (left). Their goal? To track the young crane on its first and study the crane’s behavior and habitats used both during migration and on its .
On July 8, 2013, a young Eurasian Crane named “Ahja 4” was banded and tagged with a satellite transmitter (22 g solar powered leg-band Argos/GPS MTI PTT-100) near Ahja village, Estonia close to its nest site. After banding, Ahja 4 spent its pre-fledging period near its home area within a few kilometers from the nest site. After fledging, Ahja 4 and its family joined the nearest flock of cranes roosting in a raised bog flooded for peat extraction at Meelva, approximately18 km from the nest site. The crane family fed mostly in cereal fields and cultivated grasslands around the Meelva Bog. Ahja 4 began migration on the morning of September 22 and arrived at its wintering location approximately 5,900 km south in Ethiopia on November 20. This wintering site is the southernmost documented wintering location of a satellite-tracked Eurasian Crane.
A special expedition from the Estonian University of Life Sciences, in cooperation with Estonian national TV, visited the wintering area of Ahja 4 at Sululta close to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between January, 16-26, 2014. The main scientific goal of the expedition was to study the home range, habitat use and behavior of a satellite-tracked crane on the basis of GPS locations. In total, were described. The crane family fed mainly in agricultural fields (barley, oat, peas, and other crops) and roosted on the river floodplain together with many other waterbirds. According to our counts and information from local people,
Over two months, Estonian researchers tracked the banded Eurasian Crane, Ahja 4, as it completed it’s first between Ahja, Estonia and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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Already, towards late October, the undulating flights animate the sky, accompanied by unceasing calls “krou-krou-krou”. The first Common Cranes’ flocks announce the autumnal migration for wintering beneath more clement skies.
Many people see in the cyclic cranes’ migrations a symbol of regeneration. Some attach them to the hyperborean worship, stemming from Greek Mythology. These mythical inhabitants of Northern Europe lived in a country considered as Heaven on Earth. The Common Cranes would be to a certain extent, the messengers of this other universe, “behind the North wind”.
During the migrations, the bird showing the way at the head of the V-shaped flock has in front of him only the unlimited horizon. But the others, in shifted position, also have in front of them the empty space. From time to time, the bird which is in the lead leaves the place to another, and takes again a more modest rank in the flock. The Ancients saw in this game a great sense of responsibility and an obvious democracy symbol
But the Common Crane is not only a symbol. It is also an improved bird, being able to fly at great elevation and on long distances. It invariably follows the same way, a band of a hundred kilometers of width, which leads it in autumn from northern Europe towards France, Spain and North Africa, and return in spring by the same way. The species breeds in northern Europe, Scandinavia, Denmark, Poland, Russia and Siberia.
Wintering sees the flocks stopping in France (Champagne and Landes of Gascogne), and especially in Spain, in Extremadura. A few thousands of birds go to Morocco. Another way of migration leads the flocks to Tunisia and Algeria, coming from Finland. The populations of Central Asia migrate as far as Ethiopia, via the Nile valley, for wintering.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon has offered a reward of $1,000 (£646) for information on the
(named after the queen of Palmyra), the only remaining bird who knows the migration routes to wintering grounds in Ethiopia.
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Egypt last year estimated that continuous nets lined at least 700km of the Egyptian Mediterranean coast during the autumn migration, the only places not intensively netted being military bases and cities. The Egyptian coast is
Lake Tana – A Paradise for Biodiversity
The Lake Tana region has a high level of biological diversity and is considered part of two biodiversity hotspots: the Eastern Afromontane Hotspot and Horn of Africa Hotspot. Its invaluable ecosystems and habitats are of local and international significance.
Abundant wetlands, swamps, marshes and floodplains are found all around the shores of Lake Tana and its tributaries. Together these form the largest wetland complex in Ethiopia and are of global importance. These are rich natural ecosystems and support many endemic animal and plants species.
The lake is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Its wetlands provide a habitat for many endemic and migratory bird species which depend on the area for feeding, nesting and roosting. Due to its location at the horn of Africa, the lake is an important stopover and wintering site for many migratory birds on the flyway between Europe, Asia and Africa. The marshes and shallow areas of the lake are some of the most important wintering areas for Central and Northern European migratory bird species including the Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveller and the Black-tailed Godwit. Rare bird species such as the endemic Wattled Crane and Black-crowned Crane also use the wetlands surrounding the lake. Vast undisturbed reedbeds serve as breeding, feeding and roosting sites for these resident crane species and are essential for their survival.
Lake Tana is well known for its unique concentration of endemic fish species due to the lake's isolation from other water bodies separated by the Tis Issat falls. Approximately 70% of the 67 different fish species recorded in Lake Tana are endemic and the lake is home to the only remaining intact flock of Barbus fish in the world. Hippopotamuses, and reptiles like the Nile Crocodile and Nile Monitor also populate the lake and its surrounding areas. Papyrus, one of the characteristic features of Lake Tana, grows along the lake's shoreline.
There are a few patches of original forest vegetation that have been in the area. .
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