Thousands of dancing cranes welcoming spring. This is what you can experience from Trandansen in the south-western part of Lake Hornborga. There is also an Info Centre open during the crane season.
Trandansen is located in the southern part of the Hornborga Nature Reserve. On the grounds next to Bjurums church, between the towns of Skara and Falköping, large flocks of resting cranes gather in the spring. You can see them up close here while they eat, dance and trumpet.
The first crane to arrive at Lake Hornborga in the spring is one of the country’s most important signs of spring. They could come as early as near the end of February. Then it takes a while. The time when the most cranes are here is usually in late March and early April. However when they are at their greatest number, depends upon the weather and wind.
The crane season lasts for about five weeks. During those weeks, thousands of cranes stop by through the area. With the objective of keeping the cranes in the Nature Reserve and thus reducing the damage to the nearby farmlands, the birds are fed barley grain near Trandansen.
The crane season is usually a mix of nature experience and folk festival. If you want answers to your crane questions or to purchase a souvenir, you can visit the Trandansen Info Centre, which is located here. You will also find an exhibition about the cranes here.
The Info Centre is open during the crane season and during eagle days during weekends in January when white-tailed eagles are fed in the area. Keep an eye out in our calendar for when the eagle days take place.
Next door you will also find a detached building with WCs that are open all year round. There are also an emptying pit latrine for motorhome toilets.
During the crane season we charge a parking fee at Trandansen. The money goes to the feed for the cranes. The fee is SEK 30 for passenger cars and SEK 130 for overnight campervans/recreational vehicles.
As a foreign visitor, you can pay at the checkout inside the Trandansen Info Centre. The fee is valid for a 24-hour period.
If you live in Sweden, the fee can be paid with the Swish app to number 1236357925 and is valid for 24 hours. We suggest you download the app before your visit. But this only works if you have a Swedish bank account. State the registration number as a message when submitting the payment.
Perhaps you would like to experience the crane dance from your home? You can do this via our webcams. They broadcast live during the crane season. The broadcasts usually start on 20 March, and continue until the cranes have departed from the area.
The Trandansen site in the Nature Reserve is open all year round. The nature in the nature reserve is always open. There is never any charge visit it. The opening hours only apply to the Trandansen Info Centre. There is no charge for entry here either.
