 |
|
Lake Hornborga |
|  | |
Lake Hornborga
View over the cranearea in the southern part of Lake Hornborga. The NATURUM "TRANDANSEN" ("the crane-dance") to the left. Photo: Göran Lundin.
Lake Hornborga
Centre for information "TRANDANSEN" ("the Crane-dance") between Dagsnäs and Stora Bjurum is also a restingarea for drivers on the road between Skara and Falköping. Photo: Gösta Eriksson
Hornborgasjön
Hornborgasjön is situated in the southwest part of Sweden between the two large lakes Vänern and Vättern. The lake is a eutrophic low land lake of about 150 hectare of wetland. It was more or less dried out to be agriculture land and talks about restoration started in the 1950:ies. It is surrounded in the east by the mountain Billingen, in the west by forests and some stripes of small fields and in the north and south of agriculture land. The most common agriculture products are wheat, oats, rye and especially in the northeast potatoes.
Hornborgasjön is situated in the southwest part of Sweden between the two large lakes Vänern and Vättern. The lake is a eutrophic low land lake of about 150 hectare of wetland. It was more or less dried out to be agriculture land and talks about restoration started in the 1950:ies. It is surrounded in the east by the mountain Billingen, in the west by forests and some stripes of small fields and in the north and south of agriculture land. The most common agriculture products are wheat, oats, rye and especially in the northeast potatoes.
The wetland and surroundings are protected as a nature reserve with special zones protected as bird protection areas March 20 – July 15.
Cranes has rested in the area probably many hundred years. Important for the cranes has been the potato fields since before 1900. Public knowledge of "the Crane dance at Hornborgasjön" was spread from 1950:ies by "Crane safaris, films and later by television programmes.During the 1970:ies the production of potatoes stopped and the number of resting cranes also. After some years the cranes were fed by barley, spread on the fields, and the number increased. A new feeding area was established in the southern part of the lake 1992 and the crane are nowadays fed by 1-3 tonnages of barley each day from the last week in March and during the whole April.
There are four main reasons why the cranes stay during migration at Hornborgasjön:
* One-day flight from Rügen, south of the Baltic Ocean.
* Food available in the area of Hornborgasjön.
* Suitable sleeping areas in shallow water.
* Long distances for most of the pairs to their breeding areas in the north and often still winter there.
The number of resting cranes has increased both during spring and autumn.
Cranes are counted both during spring migration, peak number about 12.000 and autumn migration, peak number about 8.000. They are counted when they move from the agriculture fields to the sleeping areas in shallow water in the lake. Counting of cranes in the lake area has been made since 1966. Responsible for the counting nowadays is the Biologic Field station of Hornborgasjön.
Almost all cranes arrived in March April from the Rügen/Back area in northeast Germany. Most of the cranes resting at Hornborgasjön are breeding in the northern part of Scandinavia and are resting at the lake waiting for better conditions to continue migration towards north.
Interesting notices when looking at the development of number are:
1. The number decreased when the distillation factories for alcohol from potatoes were closed and potatoes were not any more available.
2. The number increased when the cranes were feed with barley.
3. The cranes accepted to change fields for feeding.
The farmers have learned how to manage and diminish the damage made by cranes. Co-operation with the province office at the lake has been successful. Important is to plough the harvested fields as late as possible in the autumn.
The churche of Bjurum between Falköping and Skara. Photo Gösta Eriksson.
|
| |
|
|
Cranes - Swedish Crane Working Group
Överst på sidan