Whooping Crane Migration Update: February 28, 2003 Today's Report Includes: Welcome to History in the Making Tom Stehn Reports From Aransas: Wonderful News! The Downswing: Challenge Question #1 Field Notes From Florida and Link to Photo Journal Leaders and Followers: Link to Lesson Meet the Flock and Teacher Tip Tracking Teasers: Challenge Question #2 Tips for Teachers: Are YOU Ready for the Migration? Backtracking: The Historic Journey SOUTH 16 Ultralight Whoopers Arrive at their Winter Home in Florida Photo OM, WCEP Welcome to History in the Making You are joining us for an unfolding, historic story! Not only is biologist Tom Stehn back to share great news about the main flock of whooping cranes, but this spring marks the second year of the Whooping Crane Reintroduction Plan to bring a new flock of these endangered birds back to their former range in eastern North America. The young Eastern flock has grown from five cranes last year to 21 cranes this year. The second group of youngsters (16) are now wintering in Florida after ultralight airplanes "taught" them the 1225-mile migration route last fall. Sara Zimorski of the new flock?s Monitoring Team will keep us up to date until the young birds leave. Thanks to satellite tracking, we'll follow and map their progress as the Eastern flock returns to their summer home in Wisconsin without human assistance. Tom Stehn will report on the main flock as they leave Texas for their breeding grounds in northern Canada. We?ll hear about their progress from Wally Jobman along the way and Brian Johns when they reach Canada. As you join us for this much anticipated season, see more about this study on the Web: About This Study Tom Stehn Reports From Aransas: Wonderful News! Tom Stehn and Survey Plane "Who out there ever wants to write a report? Well, this is one I am truly excited about writing because I have good news to share," writes Tom Stehn from the wintering home of the main flock at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Read what Tom does, and what he discovered! "The most important thing I do every winter is try to count the whooping cranes. This is my 21st year doing this. The winter is the only time of year when it is feasible to get a total count of the flock. Even then, the cranes are spread out over 35 miles of the Texas coast, and it takes me nearly 8 hours in a small airplane flying transacts back and forth across narrow widths of salt marsh in order to find them all. We would actually fly about 800 miles every week if we ever flew in straight line. I'm not actually doing the flying--I'm simply the observer. I plot all the whooping cranes I find on aerial photographs that helps me avoid counting the same bird twice. "After two down years in a row, the whooping crane population has rebounded. This winter, there are 185 whooping cranes on the Texas coast. The flock consists of 169 white-plumaged adults, and 16 rusty-brown first year birds that hatched in June, 2002 in northern Canada. This 185 total is only 3 less than the all-time peak of 188 back in the fall of 1999. Recent Whooping Crane Population Totals adults young total 1997-98 winter 152 30 182 1998-99 winter 165 18 183 1999-00 winter 171 17 188 2000-01 winter 171 9 180 2001-02 winter 161 15 176 2002-03 winter 169 16 185 "The whooping crane population seems to take a downswing every 10 years, and then grows for the rest of the decade. I'm confident the population has just come through such a downturn." And there?s more! Read Tom?s full report here: Link to Tom Stehn's Full Report As you read Tom?s report, find the answer answers to these questions: How many pairs of cranes from this flock nested in Canada last summer? How many chicks from the main (Western) flock survived their first summer and the fall migration from Canada to Texas? How does a whooper kill and eat blue crabs, its favorite food? How many crabs can one crane eat in a day? AND?. Challenge Question #1: "How does Tom explain why the population of the main flock went down from 188 birds to 180 and then 176?" (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) Field Notes From Florida, the Eastern Flock's Wintering Grounds What is this? Photo ICF The birds you tracked on Fall?s Journey South with the ultralights are taking it easy in sunny Florida. They are growing strong and wild in preparation for the return trip back to Wisconsin that we hope they will make when winter ends. When will the young cranes leave? WILL they leave? What are they doing now? Sara Zimorski is on the small team watching over the cranes at Chassahowitzka until the cranes migrate. She is an expert from the International Crane Foundation and she's experienced in crane care and crane tracking with radio and satellite signals. Sara helped track the yearlings on their migration Check out our photo journal for the HY02 cranes' first winter. Where are the yearlings and where are the chicks? What?s their new oyster bar for? Why is it so important for these birds to roost in water at night? Which of the yearling whoopers lived with the 16 youngsters in the enclosure all winter? How does Sara reach the cranes to check on them twice a day? If the cranes are supposed to be wild, what do caretakers do? Photo Journal: The Eastern Flock's Winter at Chassahowitzka Leaders and Followers Dr. Gee is a leading scientist in learning that puppets and costumes could be used in raising captive-bred cranes so they grew up to naturally behave like cranes. Dr. Gee worked for many years at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. He's standing by the exercise tank for baby chicks. You might be surprised that that yearling Crane #5 has been in the pen with the 16 juvenile cranes delivered on November 30. Sara tells us that sometimes he asserts dominance over the youngsters. "When he wants to eat, he eats, making the others wait." Crane handlers have told us that cranes, with their own moods and personalities, often remind them of people they know. We are delighted to introduce you to Dr. George Gee, who shares fascinating comments about crane body language and pecking order: Dominant or Submissive? Leader or Follower? Try This: Making Connections 1. If you have two gerbils, hamsters, cats, songbirds or guinea pigs at home or school, watch them for a half hour. Which seems to be dominant? How can you tell? 2. Has an animal's personality ever reminded you of someone you know? Tell why. Meet the Flock Read notes about the juvenile cranes? behaviors and then classify the cranes as dominant or submissive. Some of the cranes may be difficult to figure out. Do you think these may be in the middle of the pecking order? Meet the Flock, Hatch Year 2002 Teacher Tip! Writers Workshop Writers Workshop is on the menu of options offered in our new Reading and Writing Connections for the selection above. You?ll find ideas to make personal connections, make inferences, develop vocabulary, and more! Here?s just one idea from the lesson: Expository Writing. Write a concluding paragraph for the selection. What details from the text could be used to summarize the information in a conclusion? What do you want readers to think about after they read the article? How do you want readers to feel? What actions do you want readers to take after reading the selection? For example, if you want readers to continue learning about whooping cranes, how will your concluding paragraph achieve this purpose? Now you?re ready to ponder our next Challenge Question! Which 5 cranes will wear satellite tracking devices? Why were they chosen? Photo OM Tracking Teaser Five of these cranes have been fitted with satellite tracking devices called PTTs. While we're all waiting for lift-off, meet the flock you'll track this spring. After you read about their personalities (see above), come back and tell us your predictions for: Challenge Question #2: "Which five cranes would YOU pick to wear satellite transmitters? Why?" (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) Tips for Teachers: Are YOU Ready for the Migration? Whooping crane migration typically begins in March for the Aransas flock, but we can only guess when the new Eastern flock will leave Florida and head north to Wisconsin. Until migration begins, we'll focus on the cranes' over-wintering behavior and getting acquainted with the new flock. This Reintroduction Project is the first time satellite data has been available for whooping cranes, and you may want to use this time to develop the mapping skills your students will need to track the migration. Here are some tips and background lessons to help you get ready for satellite tracking: Latitude, Longitude and Distance Traveled This lesson will help you get comfortable with satellite data so you'll have a feeling for the distances involved when a crane's latitude and longitude readings change. How to Map Satellite Telemetry Data This lesson includes charts with step-by-step instructions for pinpointing a crane's latitude and longitude on a map. Placing a transparency on top of your map will make it easier to draw lines and find the bird's exact location. ABOUT THE SATELLITE DATA YOU WILL RECEIVE: Operation Migration's Heather Ray explains: "We cannot publish the exact coordinates simply because we can't risk having anyone go and possibly disturb the cranes, either this year or next. As you know, cranes will select "staging" areas, which they use for resting/refueling along the way. These areas are used year after year by the ever growing (I hope) flock. For this reason, we prefer to keep these locations a secret until the flock reaches a self-sustaining level and we are assured that they will flush IF a human should approach them." Backtracking: The Historic Journey SOUTH If you weren't with us for last Fall's Journey South, students with extra time and interest can investigate the first human-assisted migration of an endangered species. See the remarkable events of the young Eastern flock following ultralight airplanes as they learned the migration route between Wisconsin and Florida. Many of these pages include audio clips, video clips, photos, and journaling questions. This link takes you to the Resources Page, where you'll find links to Year One and Year Two Ultralight Migrations: Whooping Crane Reintroduction and Migration Highlights 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 #1 (OR #2). 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 14, 2003. Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form