The Cranes in the Brook area in 2006 and 2007

Due to increased business requirements and numerous longer business trips since mid of 2005, the recordings of 2006 have been less dense, die analysis took longer and was finally completed by my older son Bengt using his newly developed analysis program. After that, there was not enough time to summarize the results for this website as well, which I am now doing in April 2007. In spring 2007, there had been no chances for recordings in the Brook at all, my observations are limited to a few visits, and the conclusions are based on these visual and acoustic (with my ears) observations (I can identify several pairs just by my ear, some others by comparing what I heard shortly ago with my files).

2006
This year, there are more pairs present (8) than previous year, but still significantly less than 2004 (16). However, it is positive that the pairs had been successful with 9 chick. One new pair (which got the number # 33) appeared and settled on an unused grassland outside of the Brook.

This as well as 2 other territories outside of the Brook boundaries (as well as lack of time) are the reason for a new form in which I am giving the territories overview.

The full completion of the alteration of generations seems to take longer than I expected 2004 / 2005. And a number of surprises have to be reported as well:

• Pair # 4 is again together – M4 for whatever reason does not have his new wife with him like last year, but his former wife joined him again – maybe she made a sabbatical without him?
  
  • Whatever happened, – definitively #4 now is the oldest pair, it is in the Brook since 1994 (without interruption), and already in 1994 it was breeding which means it must have been around 3 years old at least; hence their age now would be about 16 years.¹ This pair never changed the territory, only the location of the nest within the territory. And only last year, it was not together.
  • And finally this year – after so many unsuccessful years – it succeeded in having a chick! (maybe the female's sabbatical was helpful?)
• The most flexible and successful pair # 6/28 has shown its flexibility again: it changed its territory, left the Brook boundaries and settled in the neighboured Rader Forst, again successfully breeding (this area was used by the pair for feeding in previous years before and during the breeding time); the reason for changing the territory could be the fact that the meadow (“Rader Wiese”) which was used for feeding the chick in the previous years was occupied by numerous fallow deer almost every day.
• # 18 is back and settled in a new territory South of the Brook boundaries near by "Wohldorfer Wald".
• The settlement of the new pair # 33 and the fact that it happened outside of the Brook in close vicinity to some houses, is a surprise as well.
• A positive surprise as well is that #12 successfully raised 2 chick after many unsuccessful years, their first chick!
• # 19,2 was not successful, and about # 5, we do not know a lot, it was spending most of its time in the South of KHB. # 24,13 probably had one chick as well, but the observations have been complicate and it was not definitely possible to differentiate them with their chick from the #4 family (neighbours).

¹ Also F2 will have about the same age.

2007
Lot of travelling due to business reasons have completely prevented me to make any recordings. In spite of this, it was possible during some visits to make some observations at least, and I was able to identify some of the unison calls just by by ear and memory and / or by comparing with recorded calls in my files.

This is the conclusion regarding the distribution of pairs:

Probably, 10 pairs are present, again more than last year, but still much less than in the record year 2004 (16, out of which 10 or 11 had settled n a territory). The following observations had been possible, but they are not as reliable as the ones based on visual and acoustic observations in the previous years:

• In the Northern part, a new pair (# 34) has settled in the easter half of the territory which was formerly occupied by # 12; this pair is now limited to use the Wester part of its former big territory. For # 34 I do not yet have any recording but a clear proof of existence and difefrentiation from #12: during one of my visits it was unison calling, it its call is definitely different from # 12's call pattern, and during the call, # 12 was visible in the Wester part of the territory.
• In the area which was used by # 33 last year, again a pair is settling whose unison call is (according to my ear) identical with # 33's call.
• In Rader Forst # 6,28 is settling again (with no question identified according to my ear).
• It was as well possible to identify by ear #4, #24,13 and # 31! (this pair had a territorial debate with # 4 on Sunday after Easter, during which #4 unison called and M31 as well; I was able to M31's call by comparing with a recorded call, it is quite characteristic). # 31 appeared iny May 2004 in #4's territory (#4 already had basically left after an unsuccessful breeding attempt) and was dancing and actively copulating and calling, but vanished after a few weeks and did not come back in 2005 and 2006.
• # 19,2 seems to have given up to settle in their former territory, at least I did not see or hear them there, but only in the neighbour area where they used to raise their chick in former years.
• # 5 seems to be again in the inner part of the Brook, in "Urbrook", they had a territorial debate with #19,2 (which allowed me to identify both of them by hearing their calls).

In total there may be 10 pairs, maybe some more (at least one single crane is present as well). Until moid of April, obviously only #33 (and probably # 24,13, which I nly heard but did not see) were breeding, previous breeding attempts of basically all pairs (which obviously had been the case) seem to have been stopped, at least all other pairs were visible together.