The crane fascinates with its beauty, its trumpet-like calls and its spectacular courtship dances has always fascinated people. I too have never been able to escape this fascination.
After experiencing the migration of cranes up close in spring and fall in recent years, I wanted to capture an even more special and intimate moment of the cranes this year: The birth of two crane chicks.
Thanks to the preparatory work of a local nature conservation officer, I was able to create a Camouflage tent directly next to the cranes' nest. The crane's nest is always on the ground and is usually completely surrounded by water to keep enemies such as foxes, raccoons and wild boar away.
When I arrived at the tent one chick has already hatched and pecked at the other egg. So my hopes were very high that I would be able to experience the first moments of the second crane's life.
Tip: By the way, I took the pictures with the camera "Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5SEG-K" (is available here*). The lens was the "Panasonic H-RS100400E9" (is available here*).
Stormy night for me and the cranes
After waiting in vain for the second chick to hatch, I decided to spend the night in the camouflage tent so as not to miss the special moment the next morning.
However, the weather gods did not grant me a particularly pleasant night. A Heavy thunderstorm with violent squalls kept me busy for several hours and of course I could have done without the numerous midges in the tent.
When the night was halfway over and the first signs of daylight appeared, Mother Crane continued to breed diligently and continued to hide her offspring under her plumage. Had the second chick hatched or not? A question that could only be answered with a lot of patience.
About 5 hours later, the mother still could not be coaxed out of her shell. I knew that the moment would comewhen the father returns from his search for food. This is usually the time when the parents-to-be greet each other and go on little exploratory tours around the nest.
Crane chicks - An emotional moment
I had previously heard from other wildlife filmmakers that the moment with freshly hatched cranes is something very special, that you can never forget for the rest of his life will. And that's exactly what happened.
After an eternity of waiting, the Father Crane over the nest and then flew through the picture. At this moment the mother finally rose.
I immediately realized that the Second chick hatched and has just seen the light of day for the first time. When I saw this small, fluffy animal trembling and excited next to his new family, I couldn't hide my emotions.
It was the first time that tears streaming down her face while filming. This alone should make it clear how special and intimate such a moment in our nature is, which I have described here in the Wildlife Blog would like to share with you. I'm also relieved that the wait and all the effort were worth it. Awesome 🙂
Do you have any questions and how do you like the video? What experiences have you had with the cranes? I'm looking forward to your comment.
PS: My wildlife blog is part of the CareElite Blogs. Feel free to look around and be inspired by our unique nature. If you want to see more videos from me, then I recommend to you my wildlife highlights from 2017!
