The
Cranes and Lake Michigan: Next Steps
May
14, 2004 Report by Sara Zimorski, ICF/WCEP
The
Problem: See The
Cranes and Lake Michigan: What to Do
The
Decision for Now
The bottom line after our May 11, 2004 Bird Team conference call is that
we've decided to leave the birds in Michigan to do what they want for
the time being. We will consider moving them if they get into trouble,
or move to an area with poor habitat--either in Michigan or Ohio--if they
were to go back there, where very little suitable crane habitat exists.
Project biologist and tracker Dr. Richard Urbanek has been in touch with
folks in Michigan to see if they can check on the birds and help monitor
them for us. Additionally he'll probably go over there or have Lara fly
over there to check out the habitat they're in and see what they're up
to. Right now we only know for sure that #1 and #9 are together, because
of the PTT data; no one has seen all five birds together since they left
Ohio. We assume they're still together, but don't know for sure.
What
We DO know
- The
birds initially flew in W and NW winds when they were leaving FL and
they seem to have gotten blown off course to the east. This is why they
ended up on the wrong side of the lake.
- The
birds have attempted to head in the correct direction that would get
them back to Necedah, except the lake is blocking their path.
- Cranes
don't like to fly over water; no thermals are generated over the water
and, though they could easily fly the distance across the lake, for
all they know it's an ocean--not a lake.
If
the weather was clear and the birds got up high enough they might be able
to see across the lake and then feel more comfortable attempting to cross
it, but it seems if they could or wanted to go across the lake they would
have already done so. However, MI is one of the dispersal
states that borders the migration states and the birds are welcome
in MI as long as we want them to stay there, or until they choose to leave.
Additionally, Michigan has lots of good crane habitat.
Reviewing the Risks
There are risks associated with catching, handling, and transporting birds.
All the planning and precautions we take can't guarantee something won't
go wrong. These are valuable birds. Lots of folks are nervous about capturing
them. They simply don't want to, or feel uncomfortable taking that risk
if we don't have to.
How Important is Their First Summer Location?
We don't and can't necessarily understand the importance of the location
the cranes pick to spend their first summer. Crane #7 from 2001 spent
her first summer at Horicon NWR and has faithfully returned there last
year and this year as well. Cranes #3 and #15 from 2002 spent most of
last summer in South Dakota, but so far seem content sticking around WI,
with an occasional flight into MN.
So will these eight HY 2003 birds want to return to Michigan next
summer if we leave them there this year?
Maybe, maybe not. I believe (and others do as well) that even if the birds
stayed in Michigan, they would likely migrate to Florida in the fall.
And unless they flew in westerly winds and got pushed east again, they
would likely return to Wisconsin next year. They seem to know where they
want to and should go; they simply have an obstacle blocking their path
and they can't figure out how to get over or around it.
What If? Educated Guesses
No one believes it's necessarily bad for the birds to stay in MI, but
it's not something we planned on and again those 8 birds are 22 percent
of the current eastern migratory population. Some team members believe
we really need to focus on building up the core population and have them
concentrated in Wisconsin in order to have the number of cranes that will
ensure successful breeding, reproduction, and therefore a successful project
in the future. When these birds are older and looking for territories
and mates, will there be problems if they don't spend time in and around
Necedah and the other birds in the population? Or is it okay for the birds
to disperse and for us to just watch and learn? Unfortunately we don't
know the right answer, if there is one, and can only speculate and make
educated guesses.
We don't know the answers to these questions. This is an experiment and
we are still learning. There are risks and benefits to all possible scenarios.
These are valuable birds in which we've invested a tremendous amount of
time and energy for the first 10-11 months of their lives. This project
and this particular situation illustrates the balance we have to strike.
It’s a balance between setting the birds free to be wild, and learning
by watching what they do without interfering--and the desire and need
to continue protecting the investment we have in the birds and this project
in order to make this population succeed.
Try
This! Journaling Question
- Why is
such great care taken to bring the ultralight chicks to Necedah NWR
from their captive breeding facility at Patuxent WRC before
they learn to fly. (Forhelp answering this, see Goodbye
Patuxent, Hello Necedah.) What do YOU think will happen in the following
years if these eight young whooping cranes do not return to their first
fledging grounds?
Journey
North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by
the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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