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April 27, 2006
Dear Journey North,
Migration is in full swing here in Canada. Several recent sightings of cranes in Saskatchewan have been reported. See them here, but read on to hear more about a special pair.
Meet the Bull's Eye Lake Pair: 21 Years Old!
Two of the
cranes observed at St. Denis were banded. One of the birds has
only a metal band above the right foot. The
second bird has
a white/black/white band on the left leg and a metal band above
the right foot. This pair is know as the Bull's Eye Lake pair because
of where they nest. The
bird banded white/black/white - low silver is a female hatched
in 1985 in
the Klewi River area of Wood Buffalo National Park.
She was originally banded as: white/black/white left - blue/yellow/blue
right. The blue/yellow/blue bands fell off several years ago. She
first nested in 1991, also in the Klewi River area of the Park.
Her
mate,
now only banded as low silver on the right, was originally banded
blue left - red/white/red right. He is also a 1985 bird and was
also hatched
in the Klewi. His coloured bands are long gone, but his aluminum
band can still be seen above the right foot. These 2 cranes
brought
two chicks to the Texas wintering grounds in the first 3 years
of nesting, but have not had a young since then. Each of these
birds will
be 21
years old
in about 5 weeks.
News from
the Nesting Area
The first cranes have also reached the nesting area. The reports
I have from there indicate that it is very dry in many areas
including the marshes along the Klewi River area of Wood Buffalo
National
Park—where white/black/white and her mate are headed.
Brian
Johns
Wildlife Biologist
Canadian Wildlife Service
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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