# A good day for flying



## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

I always have to stop and look when I hear the grue (cranes) migrate over our house twice a year. This was just one of today's waves.










This is a French site that monitors the migration day by day - https://tinyurl.com/grue-migration-site


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Amazing sight. Where do they end up?


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I have thousand of those flying over my house every day, the noise they make is deafeing sometimes.

The Geese are also hear now gabbling away as they pass over.

Yesterday down by the river I was extremely happy to see hundreds of peewit/plovers overhead, when they finally settled the field was black.

This is not easy to see, only had the phone with me, but every black dot is a plover, this was only one group, I don´t know if they were coming or going further.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I assume birds do not migrate in clouds but do they migrate on top of layers of cloud?


If they do how do they penetrate down if the layer is below them when they wish to land?


Just asking as a fellow flier.



Geoff


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Geoff, my understanding is that they fly on instinct rather than sight so one would assume a bit of cloud cover is of no consequence to those intrepid birds.


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

A difficult subject to video  but it gives an idea of the unmistakable sounds

>>Here<< is a site in English about the grue (cranes)


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Ask Mr. Google

Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth's magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day. There's even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons.


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## baldlygo (Sep 19, 2006)

From the website above - 


> On migration they will fly by night and by day with altitudes between 200 to 1000 meters. This is quite important and worthy of note as this height clears the wind generators at 150 metres although in practice they may occasionally drop below this height before circling and regaining altitude.


We do sometimes hear them go over at night. Another thing I've learnt today from my brother in Africa (I like saying that  ) is that the emblem of Uganda is the Crested Crane.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

What is the national emblem of Uganda?
The Grey Crowned Crane, scientifically known as Balearica regulorum gibbericeps, was chosen as Uganda's national emblem because of its *beauty and elegance*. Commonly called the Crested Crane, it is a bird of national significance to Uganda, occupying a prime position on the country's national flag and coat of arms.

Obviously not for it´s voice :laugh:


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