Spring begins when the Cranes dance

Hornborgasjön in Sweden April 13, 2013.

All photos are taken by me with my Cannon IXUS. You are welcome to use my pictures but please, when and if you do, do not pass them on as your own. Put my name Multicultural Gittie  on them with a reference to my blog.

 A colleague from work asked me if I was interested in a visit to Hornborgasjön together with her and her wife, who also is a colleague of mine. Hornborgasjön is a famous Swedish lake where the cranes come on a yearly basis in the early spring. They fly nonstop from Germany and half way up through Sweden to participate in the yearly dance. It's a four-hour drive up through Sweden from where I live. I have often wanted to go there but never been able to do so. This would be the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to visit this famous lake at springtime, just at the right time, when the young cranes gather to dance. 

 

 

 We had a nice drive up to this very beautiful place but where were the cranes? Of course a lake is a big place and when we first came up we followed the signs and came to a nature centre. This was actually a good thing there was a lot to read and learn about the lake and a nice place to sit down and eat our delicious lunch while looking at black-headed gulls, geese, swans and other waterfowl.

 

 

 At the centre we were shown the way to the correct location where the cranes come for their yearly dance. It was just a short drive away from the centre. At first we saw the older cranes who keep their distance from the actual dance. It’s like when teens come to a music festival and the adults linger close by.

 



 

At this very day there were over 10 000 cranes at the lake and more than 2 000 whooper swans of different varieties.

At the center they told us that there have been cranes at Hornborgasjön since time immemorial. To stand there and see these huge numbers of birds was an incredible experience. The experience struck onto strings deep inside my body. It is said that birds descended from dinosaurs, and when you stood there and watched the birds and felt them and heard the sound of them, well it felt as if you were taken beyond time and space to a time that has long since disappeared.

 

 

The cranes just continued to arrive like at a Heathrow Airport for birds though much more environmentally friendly.

 

 

 

The singing has already begun and the sound is as intense as a hard rock band. Here's a trio that has begun warming up for tonight's exercises.

 

 

And even a whooper swan gets heated up. Even though he will not take part in the dance of the cranes he feels the excitement in the air.

 

 

Most of the dance take place in the evenings. Unfortunately we could not stay as long as we wanted to because we had a long drive back home. We did manage to see a little crane dance before we had to leave

 

 

It gets a little more intense and one wonders if one of them will fall into the lake

 

They can do high leg kicks and somersaults when the heat is really on, but it was a bit to early for that. However they had the courtesy to offer me a small kick

 

 

It was an absolutely wonderful day. On the way home we visited my colleague's brother and we were treated to a lovely dinner. It was really a nice day.