KRANICH path in the Hessenburg estate park

I am a crane and my name is Grusgrus.

If you follow the signs through the park, you can act out my story. Maybe you can become a crane yourself at the end.

Station 1 GrusGrus birth

I lived in this egg for 30 days and it took me 20 hours to peck it open from the inside and hatch out. The next day, my little sister also made it.

We look really cute and have light brown fuzz all over us. We can't fly yet, but the fox can't easily spot us in the light brown nest.

Our parents also color their feathers in this way so that they can protect us well. And they have long, pointed beaks. They can use them to fight and let out wild cries. And our nest is well hidden in the deep forest and shallow water. We grow very quickly because our parents bring us fine larvae, worms and snails.

We cranes have to be very careful around human roads and power lines. But here you can follow me across the road, it is no longer used.

Station 2 Grusgrus learns to walk

You can imitate what I can already do:

Stagger from tree slice to tree slice. To do this, very slowly pull one leg after the other up to your knee and take a leisurely and dignified big step. You strut around like this, always practicing your flapping, because in the end we have to be able to fly. We have 10 weeks to do this. And even then we must continue to grow big and strong and practise flying every day.

I can already look for my own food. I like mice, frogs, worms, crustaceans, cereal grains, corn, acorns, potatoes and stalks. But you don't have to eat that to become a crane. But it's fun to discover such fine food on the ground. Look what's crawling around, I like it.

Because I'm still quite small, I'm very scared of the fox and the evil birds of prey. Just don't run too far from the nest. One of my parents always stays close to me. How do they do that? One of them hides silently behind a tree and looks and listens around. Cranes are extremely alert and clever. They avoid fighting. People can learn a lot from them.

Station 3 Grusgrus is almost caught by the fox

As you can see, I'm much bigger now, almost 1 year old. My legs have grown, my steps are much bigger and I no longer look so clumsy. My plumage is also no longer light brown, it is already shimmering a little in different shades of gray and my flight feathers are finally longer and stronger. Unfortunately, I still don't have a red spot on my head like mom and dad.

I want to tell you about a terrible experience: I had run just a little further away than usual when the fox came. Dad had been standing guard behind a thick, old tree and noticed him immediately. The fox was already very close to me and I was terrified. You're sometimes so scared too, aren't you?

Dad came flying over in a flash and pretended to be injured and unable to fly properly. The fox must have thought, he's bigger, I'll get him. He chased after Dad as fast as he could, but of course he didn't get him, not even his long legs. And I raced as fast as I could to our hiding place. I only calmed down when Dad was back without any wounds.

Station 4 Grusgrus can dance

We cranes are very sociable.

We prefer to stand in the fields as a large family and enjoy a meal together. We are protected because our enemies only dare to approach us individually. There are also people with cameras, but they are harmless and don't bother us.

When we're standing together, we all chatter together and if some of us are happy or start quarrelling with others over food, we trumpet very, very loudly. We can produce these sounds with our long necks. But we have to practise a lot.

And because it's so much fun in the extended family, one of us suddenly starts dancing. Several people line up in a circle. They walk gracefully one behind the other. But there are always show-offs who are desperate to impress a beautiful crane woman. They give it their all! They flutter high into the air, spread their wings wide as if they want to embrace the beauty and contort themselves as much as they can. There is usually an immediate fight because the others also fall in love. So it's both a courtship and a cam, but it looks beautiful.

Why don't you give it a try?

Station 5 Grusgrus practicing flying

I, your Grusgrus, am all grown up now. I finally have a bright red head plate. My beak is over 10 cm long and pointed like a dagger. My plumage is gray and black. Finally, the wing feathers under my arms are also stately long. I can put them up as I walk around so that it looks like I have a fluffy tail, very smart! I am almost 1 meter and 30 centimetres tall. I have very long legs and very big feet with sharp claws. I'm no longer afraid of the fox#, but I do avoid it.

I haven't slept in my parents' nest for a long time. With the other adult cranes, I fly with the setting sun to the shallow banks of the Bodden and sleep standing in the water like the many others. In the morning, we fly back to the fields around Hessenburg with the rising sun and eat our fill. Because we have a long, long journey ahead of us. But I'll tell you about that in the next place.

You human children will never be able to fly! You lack feathers and you are built quite differently. But you can take off a little from the ground on this fallen tree trunk and feel a bit like a crane.

Station 6 Grusgrus flies away

Here you can swing, feel the air and be close to the trees while I tell you what I'm going to do.

I'm going on a trip. It's too cold for me here in Hessenburg in winter. My parents have told me about warm countries. We're flying to the south of France with the extended family in October, maybe even further afield to Spain. We'll be on the road for many, many days. The strongest crane flies ahead and we fly in its slipstream in the shape of a big "V" close behind it. I'll be back at the end of March to tell you about my adventures. But I'll only be here for a short time, because I'm getting married and flying on to Sweden with a beautiful crane lady.

If we manage all our adventures on the ground and in the air, we will visit you every fall and stay with you for a few weeks. But before your cold winter sets in, we will be gone again, flying high up in the sky to the warmth.

Don't forget your friend Grusgrus.

The KRANICH Café invites you to enjoy home-baked cakes, coffee specialties and small snacks at weekends and on public holidays from Easter to October, 12-5 pm.