The Nature Conservation Service of the Hortobágy National Park Directorate has been counting the cranes staying on Hortobágy during the autumn migration period for three decades now.
The Nature Conservation Service of the Hortobágy National Park Directorate has been counting the cranes staying on Hortobágy during the autumn migration period and determining their number as precisely as possible for three decades. The number of cranes in the area in the autumn has increased significantly, starting from the number of barely three thousand observed at the end of the 1980s, and now exceeds a hundred thousand birds staying here at the same time every year.
Today we can clearly state that Hortobágy serves as the most important migration site for the species in the world!
There are a variety of reasons behind the fact that the so-called Baltic-Hungarian migration route has become so ethnically heavy, which took place in just one human-killing period. On a European scale, the most significant factor of all is that the European breeding population of the species continues to show a strong growth, the species is successfully recapturing suitable habitats for breeding in its former distribution area across the continent. In the area of the Hortobágy National Park, during the autumn migration, the birds that stay here encounter an extensive chain of resting places with shallow water, while outside the protected area, they find harvested corn stubbles that provide an easily accessible food base in a considerable area.
From the point of view of the migration, this autumn proved to be very favorable both in terms of the weather and the condition of the habitats suitable for resting, feeding and spending the night.
After the frontal effects that started migration influxes from the northern areas, relatively favorable and long-lasting calm weather conditions prevailed, the number and condition of shallow water sites suitable for overnight stays were also quite optimal, and in the autumn period we also experienced a favorable year in terms of corn, which is the most easily accessible food source for the species. , there is a considerable extent of cob reeds suitable for food for the species.
In accordance with the above, as well as in the light of the trend of previous years, the experts expected that this year, during this week's count, the most cranes will be detected during the weekly synchronizations. Their guesses were confirmed to such an extent that with the number of 182,780 specimens registered on 12/10/2023, the record for the largest number of individuals staying in our country at the same time was also broken, the Hortobágy National Park Administration .
The previous record was set in 2018. At that time - on October 8 - 160,240 cranes were resting on Hortobágy.
Photo and video: Attila Szilágyi, Nature Conservation Service
