here some pics. of today! Another several thousand of these really large birds passed by between 11.00 am and 13.00 in about 20-30 groups: noisy and impressive (they flew lower this time)!! Jean

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/8342/img3270sl.jpg

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/5470/img3269sl.jpg

Cool! How many did you bag!? http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/evil3.gif

That are awesome pictures!


Ramonhttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/smile.gif

Quote:

i thought you should never look up at birds.....

Cool! Looks like they fly in v-formations like Canada geese.

Amazing photoshooting, Jean!!!! Thanks!!!

Robin, stork is a different species from the crane!!! Similar body structure, though!!!!

Quote:

cranes migrating back north
 

As every year, ..... sorry! see below : imageshak seems to boykot me!

Jean

My computer, IT gremlins notwithstanding, has been trying to download the pic for 2-3 minutes, unsuccessfully! http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/frown.gif

As every year, we have lots of cranes troops crossing the sky above our home on their way back to their northern summer quarter! Yesterday, about midday, there were several of these groups joining just above our heads; they must have been more than 1.000 of those pretty large birds trying to decide for a new formation of their treck!

pic 1: tree is in our garden, photo taken using my 60mm macro lens (on my way to the gh!):
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1902/mg3218sl.jpg

pic 2: as we are situated just in the eastern approach of Luxembourg airport, and as our most important airline is Cargolux with some 20 units of 747 aircrafts, there is quite a lot of traffic in the sky , just above!! one of those met the cranes; I suppose not to many injuries!!! no trick, I just used my tele lens (my other camera):
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7232/img3251asl.jpg

Jean

Wonderful! I'm having a Meindert DeJong Wheel on the School flashback (I grew up on his books, among many others). (Though I wouldn't want to be flying through that--see recent "issue" in New York.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_on_the_School

I read the word "crane" and my mind replaced it with "stork"...the book I mentioned concerns the latter. Long-necked birds, migration, yada, yada, yada...

Glad to see someone else who appreciates the cranes. I live in the midwest (Nebraska) and one of their biggest migration flight paths is just to the west of me. It's a big business for the hotels and sightseeing companies that shuffle people to the Platte river in early dawn and at dusk. The nearby corn fieds are filled with hundreds of them. The sound of the cranes when they massed together is deafening, and to watch them do their courting dances is very entertaining. It's always a good to see the cranes since it signals Spring is very near. Nice photos Jean!

--Allen--

Good photos. I'm glad that plane missed the birds!