Whooping Crane Conservation Association

Marty Folk, Avian Research,Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sent an update on the troubled Florida non-migratory flock of whooping cranes. Even though the news is not good, hopefully it will improve as the introduced whoopers gain experience. The final update on this year’s breeding season in FL describes eight of 11 pairs nested this spring; from 9 nests (1 was a re-nest) 3 pairs hatched 4 chicks and 1 chick survived to fledge.

Marty explained that this spring, in addition to collecting data on incubation behavior with video surveillance equipment, we deployed artificialdata-logging eggs into nests of 5 whooping crane pairs and 1 Florida sandhill crane pair in a pilot study of incubation temperature. One of the most important findings was that there were lapses in incubation by whooping crane pairs at night. We have not documented this problem previously because our video surveillance equipment was not suitable for recording indarkness. Lapses in incubation could affect hatchability of eggs. Deployment at nests of cameras with night-vision may allow identification of the reasons for these incubation lapses. A larger sample size of experimental nests (of both whooping and sandhill cranes) will accommodate comparisons of incubation behavior and temperature between successful and unsuccessful pairs. Therefore we are considering another breeding season of data-collection for this purpose.

By David Hendee
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Nine wild whooping crane chicks in remote Canada are wearing high-tech jewelry, courtesy of a pair of Nebraska scientists.

The endangered chicks were outfitted with miniature Global Positioning System transmitters and color-coded identification bands during a milestone research initiative by the Crane Trust, based near Wood River, Neb.

The telemetry banding was a first for wild whoopers in their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Northwest Territories, Canada.“It’s a historic moment for whooping crane conservation and for the Crane Trust,” Dr. Felipe Chavez-Ramirez said Monday. Chavez-Ramirez, the Crane Trust science director, led the Canadian enterprise.

Jessica Rempel, left, and Felipe Chavez-Ramirez,attach color bands to the right leg of a whooping crane chick at Wood Buffalo National Park

The GPS devices, he said, will document whooping crane movements throughout the North American migratory route and help identify actual or potential causes of death, such as power lines.

Migration period mortality accounts for more than 80 percent of annual whooping crane deaths, Chavez-Ramirez said. Nearly three dozen whoopers died migrating in 2009. Despite the widely known plight of the species, scientists do not know the main cause or locations of whooper deaths during their migrations.

Only about 260 wild whooping cranes remain. Once nearly extinct, about 500 whoopers exist in three North American flocks.
The Crane Trust owns or manages more than 10,000 acres of land along the Platte River to provide habitat for whooping cranes and other migrating birds.

Wood Buffalo National Park is the only known nesting site of whooping cranes, one of the world’s most endangered species.
Chavez-Ramirez’s team included Jessica Rempel, the Crane Trust’s GPS project leader, and a couple of Canadian biologists. The team scouted the area in a small airplane one day and dropped into the wetlands via helicopter the two next days.

The researchers pursued chicks on foot across wet and brushy terrain and captured the birds by hand. Each chick was measured and weighed, fitted with a telemetry device and checked by a veterinarian. Blood was drawn to determine gender and other things. The birds were released unharmed.

“It was an intense experience,” Chavez-Ramirez said. “We tried to intercept them as they ran. They’d lay flat on the ground, or freeze in vegetation, to hide. Once you get close, they’d try to get you with their beak. We learned to distract them with one hand and grab behind their head with the other.”

Eleven targeted chicks got away.

Chavez-Ramirez said the team was proud of reducing stress on the birds — some birds were captured, handled and released within 17 minutes from the time the researchers jumped out of the helicopter. The longest pursuit and handling time of any bird was 22 minutes.

Each telemetry device is riveted to two bands placed on a chick’s left leg. The device weighs less than 3 ounces. It’s about 2.5 inches long, 1 inch wide and 1.5 inches high. It has a 6-inch antenna. The solar-powered devices have a life expectancy of at least three years.The devices don’t interfere with the cranes’ ability to fly, pair up and nest, Chavez-Ramirez said.

Data from each device is recorded every six hours and uploaded to a satellite every 52 hours. Chavez-Ramirez said scientists already are tracking the chicks’ movement around the wetlands.The scientists also put three colored bands on each crane’s right leg to allow researchers to identify the crane long after the transmitter quits working.

The chicks were born in early June and already have reached their adult height of about 5 feet, Chavez-Ramirez said. The Wood Buffalo National Park cranes will start to migrate south in mid-September.

Contact the writer:
444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com

Lea Craig-Moore, Wildlife Technician with Environment Canada sent the following report to the Whooping Crane Conservation Association. Lea reports that: “August fledgling surveys have been completed and I am happy to report we found 46 chicks, our second highest year to date. Included in the count were 5 sets of twins, the second highest number on record as well.” This is excellent news after the high mortality suffered by the whooper population during the last two years.

Lea adds, “Despite lower than average precipitation this summer, water levels look good to excellent for this time of year in the crane marshes. No doubt the chicks benefited from the warmer drier summer. There is a great deal of water on the prairies this year so birds will have a lot of choice when it comes to staging this fall.” The Whooping Crane Conservation Association hopes that all the young and adult whoopers will survive and make it to Aransas NWR in Texas this fall. And we seriously hope that the Texas marshes will be healthy with bountiful blue crabs.

The Arkansas Project passes critical stage in Endangered Species Act litigation to protect Whooping Crane

(Corpus Christi, TX — July 28, 2010)

Today, in the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) litigation brought by The Aransas Project (TAP) against officials of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), United States District Judge Janis Jack ruled from the bench to deny all motions to dismiss the litigation.

Proceeding issue-by-issue, Judge Jack entertained arguments from all parties before ruling from the bench to deny each of the motions brought by the defendants and intervenors urging the court to dismiss the case or abstain from hearing it. The ruling clears the path for the litigation to proceed on the fate of the whooping crane, an internationally-recognized endangered species.

TAP legal counsel Jim Blackburn explains, “TAP’s litigation overcame a major hurdle in surviving motions brought by TCEQ and various intervenors.” This significant development in the case followed an approximately 90-minute hearing before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division. Over the course of the hearing, the Office of the Attorney General, flanked by lawyers for intervenors Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) and the Texas Chemical Council (TCC), advanced various arguments seeking to secure the dismissal of TAP’s case as well as urging the court to abstain from hearing the case on grounds that it would interfere with the state’s regulation of its’ water resources.

Following the hearing, TAP legal counsel Jim Blackburn commented, “We are pleased that the Court agreed that our case should move forward. In a case with international implications, this is a significant step in TAP’s efforts to protect this magnificent endangered species.” Blackburn continued, “We are now looking forward to commencing discovery, and digging deeply into the scientific merits which will be central to this case.”

The case is currently set for trial on March 2, 2011.

Background

In March 2010, TAP filed a federal lawsuit against several officials of TCEQ in their official capacities for illegal harm and harassment of Whooping Cranes at and adjacent to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in violation of the Endangered Species Act. TAP seeks a process to ensure that the Crane’s habitat and food sources in the bays and estuaries are protected during times of low flows.

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock of Whooping Cranes that winters on the Texas coast is the only natural wild flock remaining in the world. The flock has increased from 16 birds in the early 1940s to a high of 270 in the spring of 2008. The 2008-2009 year was the worst in recent history for the Whooping Crane, with a death toll of 23 birds, or 8.5% of the flock, occurring in Texas during their winter at Aransas. The lack of freshwater inflows to the bays from the Guadalupe and San Antonio Rivers, especially during times of low flows, resulted in very high salinity levels and depleted food and water sources for the Cranes.

About The Aransas Project

The Aransas Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on water management of the Guadalupe River Basin and bays that represents all interests throughout the basin—all the way to the bay. TAP is an alliance of municipalities, businesses, organizations, and citizens working to ensure freshwater flows to the bays and estuaries that protect the winter habitat of the endangered whooping crane. TAP’s focus has brought together a diverse range of groups, unifying an unlikely mix of both conservative and liberal support around this critical issue. Members include Aransas County, Aransas County Navigation District, Town of Fulton, City of Rockport, International Crane Foundation, the Coastal Bend Guides Association and more.

Whooping Crane breeding surveys in and around Wood Buffalo National Park were completed the last week in May by Kathy St. Laurent and Lea Craig-Moore.

Lea advises that, “Last year 62 nests were found and in 2008 a record number of 66 were found. This year I am pleased to report 74 nests were found. Only four 2009 territories did not have a nest this year. A third nest as been found in the Lobstick creek area on
Salt River First Nation Land, just a few kilometers northeast of the
Lobstick male’s northern territory. Water conditions are fantastic and
all marshes appear to be full.”

Fledging surveys and banding of juveniles will begin the first week of
August. Lea stated,”I’ll let The Whooping Crane Conservation Association know how August turns out”

Dedicated to reintroducing a migratory population of the whooping crane to eastern North America

(This article describes the reintroduced whooping crane population which migrates from Wisconsin to Florida)

June 2010 Population Status

As of mid-June 2010 there are approximately 100 birds in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of whooping cranes, consisting of 52 males, 43 females and five chicks (see below). Most birds were located in Wisconsin, with single birds located in Indiana and Michigan, and two birds last reported from North Dakota on May 25. Two other birds have not been located since spring migration, and three are long-term missing. The most recent known locations of all EMP whooping cranes are shown in the map below.

Nesting Status

At least nine breeding pairs of whooping cranes attempted nesting this year, with all nests except two located on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. As of mid-June all nests have either hatched or failed due to abandonment. This year, we had a mix of early and late nesting and renesting, and also placed one captive-reared egg into the nest of a pair with two infertile eggs. A total of 7 chicks hatched in the nests of 5 pairs, and 5 chicks are alive as of mid-June, one with each pair.

Reporting Sightings

Please forward any sightings you receive to us through the whooping crane reporting web site we have established for that purpose

The link above provides a public reporting form on a site maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). When a report is submitted, the information goes simultaneously to multiple partners including the biologists who are tracking the birds, FWS, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, International Crane Foundation, and Operation Migration.

This update is a product of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. To access our previous project updates and additional information on the project visit our web site.

See map below (Click Map for larger view)