To: Journey North From: Wally Jobman U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Grand Island, Nebraska
"Dear Students,
"Whooping cranes do not like to fly in cold, cloudy weather with a strong head wind. Therefore, it is unlikely that much northward movement of migrating birds occurred from Kansas northward during the period of April 8-12th. The only sighting reported this week was of 4 adults and 1 juvenile bird. These were sighted 10 miles east of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas on April 12th.
"A cold front moved south into Kansas on April 8, bringing clouds, fog, drizzle, north winds and much colder temperatures. Heavy snow in Nebraska and South Dakota on April 10 and 11 dropped up to 16 inches in Nebraska and 18 inches in South Dakota. Strong north winds produced near blizzard conditions in many areas! Winds switched to the southwest and temperatures warmed rapidly into the 60's and 70's on April 13 and 14th, providing excellent migration conditions. You can expect more migration sightings next week."
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Have you noticed that we've described the whooping cranes traveling from Aransas as the only WILD flock of whooping cranes in the world? This is because, in an effort to protect the whooping crane from extinction, scientists have established 3 captive flocks of whoopers. In future whooping crane reports we'll discuss these captive flocks and the efforts of scientists who've worked for years to build them.
CHALLENGE QUESTION
Why do you think it's important to have more than one flock of whooping cranes?
Please list as many reasons as you can, and send the list to:
Ask the Expert
Prepare your questions about whooping cranes for the experts and send them by May 15th to: jn_expert@informns.k12.mn.us
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959