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Migratory birds and long distance travelers

It’s the time of the desire to roam or so called wanderlust. In the fall, as the warm season slowly draws to a close, many people are infected by the travel fever: taking another trip into the warmth, soaking up the sun, escaping the rain. Homo sapiens resembles here in his behaviour the migratory birds, which fly in autumn in huge flocks and impressive flight formations towards the south. Because we at Cervo Volante ourselves get the wanderlust from time to time, and we are fascinated by bird migration every autumn anew, we would like to dedicate our latest creation to a migratory bird. Our new deer leather weekender is THE companion for travellers with wanderlust, weekend spenders and other migratory birds. The Weekender has the romanic name GRU. Gru, the crane symbolises this wanderlust, the melancholy of taking leave, the poetry of the journey in the most elegant way.

Play the song of the crane

«Gru» the weekender bag for travellers with wanderlust, weekend spenders and other migratory birds.

Nature spectacle in crane country Estonia

We tracked down (but didn’t disturb) the cranes at the photoshoot of the brand new Weekender Gru. The shooting took place in the Kuiaru nature reserve in Estonia. In Estonia, huge flocks of cranes can be seen in the fall. It is one of the most impressive natural spectacles to watch tens of thousands of cranes gathering at their resting places with their trumpeting, melancholic calls.

View of the river landscape in Tori Põrgu National Park in Estonia, one of the many stopovers for cranes.

The cranes have been breeding in forest bogs, marshes and swamp forests during the summer, and are now making their way south. More cranes join them from the northern regions of Finland, stopping over in the bogs and meadows of Estonia. On their journey to their wintering grounds in France, Spain and North Africa, the large, elegant birds fly in aerodynamic V-formation, often interweaving several arcs. In good flying conditions, the birds might even fly without stopping as far as southern Europe. Up to 250’000 cranes can be found in Spain, about 130’000 in France and a few thousand each in Portugal and Africa.

During courtship in spring and also when excited, the cranes perform special dances in which they raise their heads and beaks high in the air and make their trumpeting calls.

Acorns: delicacy for cranes, tanning agent for Cervo Volante

Many cranes spend the winter in the Spanish Extremadura and Andalusia. There they forage for acorns in the foliage in traditionally managed pasture landscapes with sometimes ancient holm and cork oaks. Cranes can crack the hard shell of the acorns with their beaks and eat the somewhat bitter-tasting pulp. The Iberian domestic pig is also driven into the oak groves for fattening at this time. Acorns are also the basis for the vegetable tanning used by Cervo Volante. The fruit cups, especially the scales of the same, have the highest tannin content, and are collected by hand in sparse oak woods. Our raw material comes from Turkey and is processed into tanning powder in Izmir. We leave the fruit to the cranes and the pigs….

Live crane transmissions can be observed as they migrate.

Symbol of vigilance, prudence and luck

Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by the beauty of cranes, their impressive journey into the distance and their spectacular courtship dances. In many cultures in the literature and art, cranes have therefore been immortalised as “birds of happiness”. In Greek mythology, the crane was also seen as a symbol of vigilance and prudence, and was associated with the gods Apollo, Demeter and Hermes. This does not seem to be just poetry. German ornithologist Bernhard Wessling discovered back in the 1980s that cranes can recognize each other by their calls. They even seem to recognize their own calls, because they don’t react to playing them from a tape, in contrast to calls of other cranes. The communication spectrum of cranes is much larger than just “screaming and calling”, and according to Wessling’s findings, at least 10 different call meanings can be distinguished.

Literature
“Der Ruf der Kraniche” is a recommendable book by Bernhard Wessling about the fascinating cranes. The natural scientist and honorary conservationist takes you on expeditions into the mysterious world of the lucky birds: How faithful are cranes to their partners really? Can cranes think? How did crane migration come about? An amazing work about the spirit of discovery, humility and respect for nature in the spirit of Alexander von Humboldt.

More info can be found here

The deer leather weekender bag for travel with a pinch of adventure

The unique wildness of the vegetable tanned deer leather is expressed throughout the entire surface of the bag. Featuring sustainable fabric lining, one small outer and one larger inner compartment, comfortable round handles and adjustable shoulder strap. Practical, sporty and timelessly beautiful.

The Weekender is just as suitable for a weekend trip to the cranes as it is for a business trip or a trip to the gym. Thanks to round handles, the bag can be carried comfortably with one hand, even with a lot of contents. 

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