Tom Stehn Reports from Aransas: February 27, 2004
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| Tom Stehn and Survey Plane at Aransas NWR |
Dear Journey
North,
2003 was a great year for whooping cranes! Here are some of the highlights.
To make sense of this, you have to know that there is
- one natural flock of whooping cranes that migrates annually 2,400 miles between Canada and Texas, and
- two reintroduced populations in the eastern U.S. (one population that migrates and one that does not).
In all, there
are only 432 whooping cranes in the world, all located in North America.
Click here to see
a chart showing the distribution of whooping cranes as of February 23,
2004.
Summer Breeding News for Aransas/Wood Buffalo Flock
A
record 61 nesting pairs of whooping cranes fledged 28 young in Wood Buffalo
National Park in the Northwest Territories of Canada, an area of marsh
and boreal forest located about 500 miles south of the arctic circle.
Young fledge when they learn how to fly at about 80 days
of age. After fledging, they are much safer from predators since they
can fly away to escape. This excellent production in Canada allows the
Wood Buffalo-Aransas wild
population to make a significant increase.
A
Record High Population!
A record 194 birds were counted at Aransas in the fall
of 2003, nine higher than last winter's total of 185. The 194 surpasses
the previous all-time record of 188 set 4 years ago.
More
Whooping Crane News
The nonmigratory whooping crane flock in central Florida,
numbering about 83
cranes, has formed 17 pairs. Two chicks fledged from 8 nests in 2003.
This is significant since it shows that captive birds can be released
into the wild, become successful parents and produce young that are completely
wild.
An additional 16 birds were flown behind ultralight aircraft from
Wisconsin to Florida in fall 2003 to bring the total of migratory
eastern whooping cranes to 36. Survival of cranes that have completed
the migration to Florida has been 92 %, an unbelievably high value. After
being led south at about 5 months of age, the whooping cranes make the
return migration completely on their own.
The 120 cranes in the captive flock fledged 43 young
in 2003. Young were raised for the ultralight migratory population, the
nonmigratory Florida population, and a few having the most valuable genetics
were held back in captivity to become future breeding stock.
The
Whooping Crane Recovery Team at Work
Crane experts recently held annual planning meetings before the start
of the spring migration and production season. Our goal is to make 2004
as good a year for whooping cranes as 2003!
Tom
Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Aransas NWR
P.O. Box 100
Austwell, TX 77950
Copyright
2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
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