Tom Stehn Reports from Aransas: April 25, 2003
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Tom Stehn and Survey Plane |
We waited three hours for the clouds to lift today (April 23) and managed to squeeze in a 3-hour flight before the winds got too strong. We found 2 cranes in the first 30 minutes of the flight, right where they had been last week. But that was it. Apparently the other 5 whooping cranes at Aransas last week had migrated, including the chick that had separated from its parents early in the winter. That chick probably started the migration with another subadult with whom it spent the last half of the winter. This chick will be fine.
So far, 182 cranes (98.9% of the flock) have started the migration, with just 2 cranes remaining. Departures from the Texas coast are on schedule. A few cranes sometimes remain at Aransas into late April or even May.
I had a good day last week taking part in a project I had organized. A cleanup effort of old crab traps involving 7 boats and 17 agency personnel took place April 16 on Matagorda Island. Approximately 400 abandoned crab traps in the crane area were picked up. Many of these abandoned crab traps continue to kill critters and thus need to be removed from the refuge. The marsh looked remarkably better on today?s flight, with most all traps removed. An additional 52 traps were located from the air that will be picked up at a future time. Thanks go to personnel from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas General Land Office, and U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service that helped with the pickup. It is very rewarding to ask for help and receive lots of assistance.
NOTE: Read more about those ghost traps in Tom?s 2002 report.
Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Aransas NWR
P.O. Box 100
Austwell, TX 77950
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