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Whooping Crane Migration Update: March 12, 2002

Today's Report Includes:

Waiting, Watching, Wondering: Field Notes and Video From Florida

Photo Operation Migration

What are these birds doing?
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Video Courtesy WCEP

"Still on their wintering grounds, the young cranes are doing a really good job learning how to fish," reports ICF's Anne Lacey of the two-person monitoring team. Climb into the blind and see for yourself (click on video under this photo) what the cranes look like as they forage!

What are the birds doing these days? "They haven't been going very far away from their pen," Anne reports. "The cranes recognize their pen as their home territory, and if the water level is appropriate (not too high, not too low) they DO roost in water. We've had very erratic water levels lately: tides that are very high or very low. If they aren't roosting in their pen, we try to keep track of where they go to make sure they're roosting in water deep enough and far enough from shore to be safe.

"Last night I watched them going through their preening routine before they go to sleep. They get everything in order before settling down to roost for the night." A reminder: Anne watches from the video monitoring equipment. Anne and Richard check on the birds every evening, taking the 5-10 minute airboat ride to check the pen and the food levels at the feeding stations. They wear the white crane costume whenever there's a chance the birds will see them. Anne usually stays in the blind and runs the video equipment. She says: "We're trying to minimize contact even with the costume so they don't rely on it or think the costume ("parent") will lead them back."

Anne adds, "Spring has finally sprung here. We might have broken out of the warm/cold/warm/cold weather pattern. Other birds are moving -- many swallows and warblers. March 8 I saw a termite mound hatch and also saw bats for the first time. If the springtime conditions seem right for other animals, maybe it'll seem right for the whoopers as well." Stay tuned!

Building up Endurance: Challenge Question #5
Richard Urbanek of the US Fish and Wildlife Service is head of the monitoring team at Chassahowitzka, and ready to take off when the cranes do. He told us that the farthest the birds traveled from their pen in the past month is about 1/3 mile. "They fly, but they just don't go anywhere." That makes us wonder:

Challenge Question #5:
"Without long flights for exercise, how do you think the cranes will manage the migration?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Which Cranes for Transmitters? Discussion of Challenge Question #1
Last time we asked you to read about the personalities of the new Eastern flock and then tell us your answer to: "Which two cranes would you pick to wear satellite transmitters? Why?" We were very pleased to hear some good thinking!

"Michael, a first grader in Ferrisburgh (Vermont) Central School, thinks that you should pick strong cranes that could carry the backpack without them being bothered by any extra weight. So that means #6 and #7 would be out for Michael's choice. He thinks that Crane #2 might be pecking at the transmitter and could further damage her beak. So that leaves #5 and #1 for his choice of who would wear the satellite transmitters." (lthurber@anwsu.k12.vt.us)

We also liked the thinking of Jennifer, sixth grader at Ferrisburgh, who looked for the most dominant ones "so everyone will follow them," and also considered which cranes have recognizable patterns "so they can be spotted easily."

Operation Migration's Joe Duff

Now let's hear from Operation Migration lead pilot Joe Duff: "The two birds that have PTT's (#2 and #5) are still dominant. During training and the migration we keep track of which birds are leaders and more dominant. We do this by watching their behaviour. The most aggressive birds (often the largest but not always) will lead the flock in flight or be the first at the feeding station. They will peck the other birds in order to establish their dominance and if the other bird want to challenge they will peck back and a small fight will ensue. These battles do not amount to much and usually one or the other will give up and walk away. Sometime the loser will peck another bird just to show that they are not complete losers. This is sometimes caled displaced aggression. The birds see us as members of the flock and will often try to challenge the handlers just to find out where they stand in the flock order. We use the puppet to challenge back and keep order. According to the monitoring team, #2 and #5 are still dominant and we hope they will be lead birds on the way back north or at least they will stay with the main flock and give us an idea where the group is."

If you haven't yet investigated pecking order (and played our pecking order game), try it now:

Departure Predictions: Discussion of Challenge Question #2
You still have time to answer: "What date do YOU predict the Eastern flock's migration will start?"

"We think sometime around March 15 the whooping crane's migration will start. It's about the same time the Western flock leaves," predict Louis, Andrew, and Vihar from Iselin (New Jersey) Middle School.

Ryan and Will's prediction is: "In the year 2000 the Whooping Cranes started to migrate on April 11, but in the year 2001 they started to migrate on April 8. Since the temperatures have been warmer this year and the cranes like cool weather, we predict they will begin to migrate on April 5 this year."

Heather Ray of Operation Migration offers some clues. "It was February 25th last year when the ultralight-led Sandhill cranes departed Florida and began their unaided return flight to central Wisconsin and the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Whooping cranes mature a bit slower than Sandhill cranes and the whoopers currently at the Chassahowitzka refuge are a full month younger than the Y2K Sandhills were at this time. It remains anyone's guess as to when they will initiate their northern journey but the Argos NASA Satellite has been providing data every other day since Feb. 20th in anticipation of their departure. The monitoring team has two vehicles both equipped with radio receivers and as soon as the young birds head north the team of two will be on the road, tracking the cranes as they return north -- without the aid of their mechanical surrogate parents."

Ghost Traps Wanted: Tom Stehn's Field Report from Aransas NWR

crane_Stehn02

Tom Stehn and Survey Plane

"I recently took part in a unique way to help whooping cranes. I wish all of you could have been here to help," writes Tom Stehn from Aransas, where he oversees the western flock. "Throughout the waters along the Texas coast, commercial fishermen put out traps and catch blue crabs and stone crabs, which they sell to restaurants and food processing companies. Each fisherman is allowed to have 200 crab traps. When the traps get old, some fishermen have failed to pick up the traps, and others have been washed to shore. These traps become litter. Unfortunately, the traps continue to catch crabs, fish, and even a rare turtle called the diamondback terrapin. When a critter gets caught in the trap, it can't escape and dies. Then other organisms come to feed on it and also get trapped, so the cycle continues. We call these GHOST traps since no fisherman is actually using these traps."

On February 23, Texas Parks and Wildlife organized a huge volunteer effort to pick up abandoned traps. How many ghost traps were picked up by volunteers of all ages? How many traps still remain in whooping crane habitat? What's the next step in this important project? Read Tom's full report here:

Then come back and give us your ideas for:

Challenge Question #6:
"What are your suggestions for picking up the abandoned traps that are still in whooping crane marshes?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Cranes at Aransas

Wild Family at Aransas. Which is the juvenile?

Who's watching the cranes?

Chemical Barge on Intracoastal Waterway Photos OM

We thought you'd like to hear about the annual Whoop It Up Festival held in February in Port Aransas, Texas. Here's what Heather Ray of Operation Migration wrote: "Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is the winter home to the only remaining wild migratory flock of 174 Whooping Cranes. Each fall, this flock migrates from the Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Texas with their young of the year. The young cranes learn this traditional migration route by following their parents -- just as the chicks we raised last year followed their mechanical parents, learning a new route and in doing so became the pioneers which will pass on their knowledge to future generations. The 3-day festival was hosted by the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce and they did a wonderful job of coordinating the many events, speakers and field trips. We were treated to a boat tour onboard the Wharf Cat with Captain Ray Little, which carried us out through the Intracoastal waterway and into the territories occupied by the Whooping cranes. On one hand, it was an encounter I wish anyone that has an interest in cranes can experience, yet on the other hand, I hope that few will actually go so that these precious few remaining birds will have some semblance of privacy. To see these huge, long barges trundle along transporting chemicals through the narrow coastal passage -- at times less than 200 ft. from the foraging Whoopers -- is alarming, and reinforces the need for a second, discrete migratory flock. Fortunately the people of this area realize the treasure they are responsible for and continue to work toward solutions to minimize potential threats to the cranes and to educate others about the critical balance of nature needed to ensure the survival of this last wild flock."

We'll learn more about these efforts in the next report. For now, look at Heather's photos and send us your answer to:

Challenge Question #7:
"What serious threats do whooping cranes face on their wintering grounds?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

Migration Dangers: Discussion of Challenge Question #4
The question above gets you thinking about dangers on the wintering grounds, but last time Tom Stehn said, "We believe most mortality (death) of whooping crane adults occurs during migration." Indeed, experts think that between 60% and 80% of all deaths of fledged whooping cranes occur during migration. The question for you was: "Why are cranes most vulnerable to death during migration?"

Kameron and Patrick from Ferrisburgh (VT) Central School wrote: "They have to get to Canada which is a very long trip. If they run into bad weather or predators they wouldn't make it. Ponds might be frozen so they couldn't find food."

Louis, Andrew, and Vihar from Iselin (NJ) Middle School said, "The Cranes are most vulnerable during migration because if they stop they can be attacked by animals such as foxes. They can fly into telephone and electrical wires which they can't see. If the place they go to is too cold when they arrive they cannot find food and will die. Any loss is a big loss for such a population."

Their answers show that these students thought carefully about the dangers of the journey! So WHY do cranes make such a dangerous trip? And what do you think is the Number One danger to migrating cranes? Write your thoughts in your journal, then compare. Tom Stehn reveals those answers here, with another question for you:

Nonessential Experimental: Discussion of Challenge Question #3
Last time we offered a lesson in comparing ranges and exploring reintroduction. We asked a tough question that many people grappled with: "Is it important that the new Eastern Flock is designated a Nonessential Experimental Population? Explain."

Students from Iselin Middle School wrote, ". . .they don't get full protection for being an endangered species. This could cause them to be more endangered. It should be illegal to experiment on endangered species."

Rachel Jepson Wolf of ICF

The International Crane Foundation's Rachel Jepson Wolf helps us with this one. Rachel says: " I was concerne when I first heard the classification of the whooping cranes in this flock. I felt that these cranes needed to be given all the protection possible under the Endangered Species Act. But I changed my mind as I learned more about what this classification meant. I now support this classification completely, and see it as vital to the success of the project. Why is "experimental, nonessential" classification important? There are two main reasons: flexibility and support.

"Flexibility. With this classification we can introduce the cranes in creative new ways (think ultralight airplanes!) to save them from extinction. While we have tested our reintroduction techniques on sandhill cranes, our current efforts with whooping cranes are new, ground-breaking attempts to save an endangered species. The "experimental, non-essential" classification allows the biologists and specialists involved to make good, fast decisions that are best for the birds without wrestling with the Endangered Species Act. It trusts the team to do what is best.

"Support. Without the experimental nonessential classification, I think it's unlikely that we would be able to do this project at all. The support of the people in each state along the flyway was vital in our efforts to reintroduce whooping cranes. People need to be assured that our efforts to save this magnificent bird won't interfere with their rights to live their life as they did before the project. For example, with "experimental nonessential" classification, if I am a farmer in Wisconsin and these cranes decide to nest on my farm, I will still be able to farm my land without concern that I am violating the Endangered Species Act. It means that if they land in my yard I can keep living as I had been without worrying about losing my property rights because I now share my property with an endangered species. The classification allowed us to gain the support of every state between Wisconsin and Florida - something I don't believe ever would have happened without the classification (and without the support of the states, we don't have a project)."

Rachel reminds us: "Keep in mind that the whooping cranes are still protected from intentional harm. A man was charged in Florida last year for intentionally shooting two 'experimental, nonessential' whooping cranes that are a part of the non-migratory flock of Florida whoopers."

How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-crane@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #5 (OR #6 OR #7)
3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions above.

The Next Crane Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 26, 2002.

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