Peer Review Analysis Underway on Whooping Crane

The peer review process underway appears to be another example of the FWS inhibiting public involvement. Your agency is supposedly responsible for conservation of the Whooping Crane but the staff seem to be doing its best to limit involvement of the public and to making questionable decisions that might make the survival of the crane questionable for now and for future generations.

The peer review appears to be a statistical analysis. Many people know numbers can be erroneous if the right numbers are not used. The language of the review in some sense indicates confusion on the purpose of the process as there are obvious discrepancies.

The public has no clue what particular details are being reviewed. We also apparently will not have any opportunity to analyze the report before it is finalized.

I also find in extremely troubling that there is no one involved on the peer review that has any familiarity with the Sandhills region and its unique habitat essential to the cranes. This perspective is essential to truly understand the crane and its occurrence. How does familiarity with Sandhill Crane on the gulf coast translate to knowing about our special endangered species in the sandhills.

Also, how can an agency that has ignored essential telemetry data be trusted to prepare a accurate and honest appraisal. The participants may have integrity but they represent a government agency that might be swayed to benefit a "sister" agency.

My self and others want this review to be done in a manner for the benefit of the Whooping Crane, but at this time there are no facts to make certain this is the case.

Potential Impacts to Whooping Cranes by R-Project Powerline

Potential impacts to Whooping Crane due to the r-project have not been adequately considered by the Nebraska Public Power District, according to a recent report. Much of the report is an evaluation of a previous report regarding the endangered cranes prepared by K. Gil and E. Weir.

Once these reports became available, there have been numerous requests by people concerned with construction of the r-project, a Nebraska state legislator and others that the utility provide an adequate assessment before the transmission line could be constructed.

Primary in the report was a finding that the Fish and Wildlife Service environmental review did not consider radio telemetry records of Whooping Crane occurrence collected during 2010-2014. Including these records provide a more “comprehensive and accurate representation of whooping crane occurrences in the R-Project area,” according to Craig A. Davis, the author of the report.

Other indicated items of concern included:

“NPPD did not validate” the collision risk assessment in their crane risk model.

NPPD’s mathematical equations “oversimplifies the potential risk that the r-project poses to migrating whooping cranes.”

NPPD underestimated “the risk of whooping crane collision with high voltage transmission lines” by utilizing data for powerlines in areas where cranes would not occur.

NPPD underestimated the extent of potential crane habitat that would potentially be impacted by the transmission line.

NPPD did not consider wetlands of less than 0.25 acres as potential stopover habitat.

Crane avoidance protocol during construction were not clearly defined.

“NPPD used a rather simplistic collision model to estimate the potential risk of powerlines to whooping cranes.” This model could not be validated, Davis indicated in his subsequent, detailed discussion.

Other items discussed in the report include projected population growth, an ecosystem risk model, and a review of whooping crane telemetry occurrence data.

“It is clear after reviewing NPPD’s, Gil and Weir’s, and the USFWS’s approaches that there is considerable uncertainty in how whooping cranes will be impacted by the R-Project,” Davis said. He also suggested that occurrence records “should be investigated further to determine the types of habitat whooping cranes are using within the R-Project area...”

Craig A. Davis. 2018. Review of Whooping Crane Risk Assessment Documents for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit and Implementation of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project Transmission Line. Lewis Berger U.S., Inc. Morristown, NJ. 23 pp.

Gil, K. and E. Weir. 2017. Scientific Analysis and Comments Regarding the R-Project Draft Habitat Conservation Plan and Potential Impacts to Endangered Whooping Crane: Analysis of Whooping Crane Powerline Collision Risk. Ecosystem Advisors, LP, College Station, TX. 39 pp.

Whooping Cranes Occur Along R-Project Corridor

The following is the text of an email received, and is presented here to convey the timely information.

"The Whooping Crane Pictures were taken North of Sutherland, just south of the North Platte River and just west of Prairie Trace Road around noon on November 15th of 2014 by Rick Jackson on Kennedy Farms. The Proposed R-Project 345KV Transmission line would be running just across the road on the east side.

"There is a juvenile Whooper in the middle of the pictures of the two adults. Two groups of three (one group of 3 adults and one group of 2 adults and 1 juvenile) were observed by Larry Kennedy from November 15th through the 17th. The Crane Trust was contacted and is currently doing the official documentation.

"It is more proof of this being a highly used area by Whooping Cranes. In the last round trip of the Whoopers migratory route in 2014 from Canada to Texas the Whoopers would have been in danger of colliding with the Proposed R-Project twice. This being when they picked the North Platte River (November 2014) and the Birdwood Creek (April 2014) as a place to stop over to rest and feed and in very close proximity to the proposed line location. The two confirmed sightings are approximately 7 miles apart and both adjacent to the Proposed line.

"There were other two alternate routes proposed to Nebraska Public Power District ("east of North Platte alternative" and "west of GGS alternative") that were reviewed by NGPC and the USFWS to have less of an impact on Migratory Birds were proven this year that they would have had less on an impact on Whooping Cranes!

"The main reason again for not following through with these alternatives to avoid these highly sensitive areas were it would cost more money (93 percent funded by the Southwest Power Pool) and reliability (line separation). One can't put a price on a species such as the Whoopers when the difference between existence and none existence may be due to poor routing decisions made such as this one.

"The endangered Whooping Cranes should be added to the Environmental Impact Statement currently being conducted by the USFWS for the known take of the endangered American Burying Beetle in the construction of the Proposed line. The reason the Whoopers can't be added as the headliner on the E.I.S is that one will not know the damage the constructed line will cause in these areas until after the fact and the damage is already done. Even then there are only around 30 Whoopers or 10 percent of the last remaining wild migratory flock of 300 with transmitters to track them. So, about 90 percent of the time when a Whooper hits a power line its death will go down as unknown. As most of the collisions they will fly off injured, get hauled off by a coyote or float down stream. At this point the NPPD and the SPP still have the option to avoid these highly sensitive areas with huge numbers of migratory birds and Whoopers, but will likely make the decision based on lowest one time cost for the project not the perpetual environmental affects.

Sincerely,

James R. Fleecs

Picture taken by Rick Jackson.

Whooping Cranes Along Birdwood Creek

Information has been received that Whooping Cranes occur along Birdwood creek in the immediate vicinity of the R-Project. Three of these birds were observed April 19, 2004 along the creek, about 0.5 mile south of the preferred r-project line crossing, according to Fish and Wildlife Service records.

Whooping Cranes are an endangered species, and the Nebraska Public Power District is required by state and federal laws to conduct an environmental assessment to evaluate how the r-project may affect this bird as well as other listed species.

Accounts of White Cranes on the Plains

Among the historic chronicles there is an occasional mention of the white crane. Most times it refers to the demise of these large birds, and a few details of how it occurred.

With some of the accounts, there may be enough to indicate that the white crane was the Whooping Crane. One item of particular significance was the bird's wingspan. Cranes and egrets have the following length from tip to tip of the wings:

Whooping Crane: 7.5 feet

Sandhill Crane: 7 feet

Great Blue Heron: 5.5 to 6.5 feet

Great Egret: 55 inches

With this measurement known, it is possible that among the following news accounts, there are previously unknown records indicating the occurrence of the large Whooping Crane. Other details are also helpful in making an evaluation.

1880s

"A white crane was recently caught at Hickory Grove, Iowa and on its bill there was a young turtle firmly fastened. The bird was a huge specimen, measuring seven feet from tip to tip, but it was almost starved to death. While stalking around on the prairie it had stuck its bill completely through a small turtle, but could not get the turtle off again, and in this condition had remained for days. When discovered it was fed, but it died within two days." — June 24, 1880; Saline County Journal 10(21): 4.

"Two large sea birds or cranes, white as the driven snow, sailed over the city this forenoon with tail feathers pointing northward." — August 10, 1881. Waco Evening News 1(24): 3. In the City News column.

"Mr. C.H. Crawford succeeded in shooting a large white crane a few days ago. As a practical shootist our friend C. is hard to beat." — April 9, 1884; New Ulm Review 7(14): 3. From Minnesota.

"Mr. George Sheidle, one of our old settlers, shot a white crane of a very rare kind on his place southwest of town. He presented it to I. Niemoller. It measured from tip to tip of wings, 7 feet, six inches, from beak to tip of claw, 5 feet, 9 inches; weight 16 pounds.— May 7, 1884; Columbus Journal 15(2): 3. From Nebraska

This bird report was included in the Platte Center community news column as submitted by "T" the correspondent. It is another example of a likely report of the whooping crane.

"Wm. Walker has a white crane that measures ten feet from tip to tip of wings." — May 20, 1885. Columbus Journal 16(4): 3. From Nebraska.

This locality is near the central Platte River, a known migratory stopover for the big cranes.

"A large white crane is on exhibition in the window of a Lincoln drug store. The bird was found on the prairie north of that city by W. Messenger, who dispatched it with his buggy whip, it having been previously wounded by hunters, evidently. It measured 8½ feet from tip to tip of wing, and has been mounted." — May 20, 1886, McCook Tribune 4(51): 2. From Nebraska.

"All crops look fine over the Frisco, and consequently everybody feels good. Today an immense white crane was killed two miles southwest of Leon by Mr. Pettitt and brought to town. It was a beautiful specimen of the long-legged family. An Eagle representative was in town and as the folks thought him somewhat of a bird man they presented it to him. It will be prepared and stuffed." — July 12, 1889; Wichita Eagle 11(47): 1. From Kansas.

1890s

"Lemuel S. Bennett living on the farm of W.D. Wyman three miles east of Cambria last week shot a large white sand hill crane on the ponds near his house. It measured seven feet six inches from tips of wings, stood five feet six inches in height and weighed eighteen pounds; this is the largest one ever captured by any one in this vicinity and was therefore quite a curiosity. — April 17, 1890; Saline County Journal 20(16): 3.

This readily fits the description of a Whooping Crane. The account was in the "New Cambria Chatterings" column submitted by the Jewell, the community correspondent.

"A white crane measuring eight feet from tip to tip was shot and brought into Guthrie, Monday." — November 6, 1891; Wichita Daily Eagle 15(147): 4. From Oklahoma.

"A.N. Reed shot a crane at his place, three and a half miles northeast of Central City, Monday, measuring eight feet from tip to tip of the wings." — April 26, 1897; Omaha Daily Bee, page 3.

1900

"White Crane Killed at Orlando.
"Guthrie, O.T., Nov. 6. — The Oklahoma aid says Thursday evening of last week Rev. R.L. Morton shot and killed a white crane. It was the largest ever seen in this country. From the tip of one wing to the tip of the other it measured over eight feet and from the end of the beak to the feet it measured over five feet. It was a very fine bird, pure white except the tips of the wings, which were black. Mr. Morton gave the bird to Sheriff Rinehart, who was here Friday to take to Guthrie to have it mounted." — November 7, 1900; Wichita Daily Eagle 33(148): 3.

Undoubtedly a Whooping Crane, based on size, feather coloration, and the date and location of occurrence.

This sample gives an intriguing glimpse of what other items may still be lurking among the pages of papers from the Great Plains region.

Study of Winter Cranes a New Challenge

The winter occurrence of whooping cranes along the central Platte River in Nebraska is a significant change in the behavior of this endangered bird.

Three adult cranes were present from January 27th to February 2nd, said Martha Tacha, a biologist at the Nebraska field office of the Fish and Wildlife Service in Grand Island. One prominent site they utilized was a river channel on the north side of Jeffrey Island.

The sighting of this species during the winter in Nebraska "certainly is unique," Tacha said. Their earliest date of occurrence having previously been February 7th.

Numerous Sandhill Cranes have also wintered along the central Platte.

There have also been Whooping Cranes at Quivira and Cheyenne Bottoms refuges in Kansas. Birds arrived in this region in late November, then never left and continued to be present in late January.

Along the Texas Gulf coast, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of cranes overwintering around Aransas NWR, their usual winter locale.

"It has been difficult for the whoopers at Aransas, due to drought conditions," Tacha said.

The federal agency tracks the occurrence of these cranes. Their effort started in 1975, with additional work done to document previous records. Records are maintained in a database.

"The results of occurrence situations this year will mean new challenges to censusing populations," Tacha said. "We don't have a good handle on the overall current population due to their movements this winter."

"If we can follow the crane's activities, we can better understand what they need to survive," Tacha said. "We need to learn more about how these cranes respond to challenges" influencing their longterm existence.

There are fewer than 300 Whooping Cranes in the flock which migrates through the Great Plains.

Power Facilities Development in West Custer County

Information found on the web indicates plans for development of power facilities in western Custer county.

A transmission substation and distribution lines will be built in the area, according to an agreement between BP Wind Energy North America Inc. the Nebraska Public Power District and the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. The "generator interconnection agreement" for the Broken Bow South substation was dated May, 2011.

The document also indicated that: "BP Wind plans to construct a 75 MW wind generation facility, which will consist of fifty General Electric 1.5 MW wind turbines." The following diagram indicates the facility, and was included in the agreement document (No. 2220).

The turbine facility was being developed in the playa wetland in the county westward of Merna. The original intention was to develop the facility and sell the power to NPPD. The power district instead selected a turbine facility that is now nearing completion in eastern Custer County.

When NPPD decided on the east Custer site, a representative said the site west of Broken Bow was eliminated since whooping cranes regularly migrate through the area.

Whooping Crane migration corridor through Nebraska. Courtesy image.

The numerous playa wetlands provide optimum seasonal roost sites for these endangered cranes, as well as a large number of other bird species.

Changed Situation

There are two notable changes which apply to this situation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently evaluating a "Habitat Conservation Plan" for a multi-state region.

"A primary goal of the HCP is to develop a consistent, systematic, and predictable approach for wind energy development while supporting the conservation of certain species. The objective of the EIS is to evaluate the potential impacts that would result from the proposed HCP and associated Incidental Take Permit (ITP) for potential species take associated with construction, operation, and maintenance activities associated with multiple commercial wind energy facilities within North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas." FWS summary document

An incidental take provision would allow the "taking" of endangered species such as the Whooping Crane, as well as threatened species and species in need of conservation, such as the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Species Take Avoidance Measures are also being considered.

A second pertinent item is recent legislation passed in Nebraska which allows power from wind turbines can now be exported from the state, so a local power district does not have to be the purchaser. For example, a project could be built and the power sent elsewhere, without the involvement of NPPD or OPPD.

BP Wind still has the agreements with some landowners in the area, which would allow placement of turbines on their property. The meteorological stations installed by BP Wind to evaluate the wind resource, are still in place.

Pending Turbine Farm

Is there a turbine farm looming in the future for western Custer county? The pending availability of a power substation and transmission line indicates there is going to be additional power generation in the area, since more infrastructure is being created.

Adding additional facilities indicates greater power generation and the means to transfer it to where needed.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission have recognized the playa wetlands of Custer county as a locale of significance which should not be used as a wind turbine facility.

However, information indicates BP Wind is still working to develop wind power facilities. The documentation also indicates continued interest in placing fifty turbines among the wetlands.

If incidental take of endangered species such as the Whooping Crane is allowed, this may tip the balance as regards the occurrence of this species in west Custer County. And if the power was exported elsewhere, local power districts could say they are not directly involved, and thus not have to answer to local opposition to any turbine project.

Long-legged Birds - Whooping Crane Young and Old

You do not have any difficulty in telling a bird from any other animal; though birds among themselves show wonderful differences, yet you are never in doubt whether a particular specimen is a bird or not. Yet how great the differences between a humming-bird, not larger than some insects, and with a flight so rapid that you can hardly see its wings, and a domestic goose, which rarely flies, is awkward, in all its movements, and large enough for a dinner for a whole family. Some birds feed only on other birds, or small quadrupeds, and such other animals as they can catch; others live on insects; still others find their food in various seeds and fruits; then when we come to the sea-shore, or the great lakes, we find birds that live upon fish, which they catch in deep water, or along shore, where the water is shallow. If birds all lived upon one thing, they would soon find a scarcity of food, and it is very interesting to observe that each class of birds is so formed that it can best get its living in one particular way. A look at a hawk, with its fierce bill and powerful claws, shows that it is intended to prey upon living creatures; if a duck, with its broad, blunt bill, and clumsy web-feet, should try to carry off a young rabbit, what poor work it would make of it! It would get along no better than would a hawk if obliged to swim and dive to the bottom of the river for its dinner. Wherever we look, whether at birds, at quadrupeds, or other animals, or even at plants, we find that each and all are especially adapted to live in a certain manner, and in particular places, and it is not possible for any thinking person, even a child, to fail to see that all this has not happened by chance. Men do not build locomotives engines to run upon the water, or construct steam-boats to travel on the land, and it is very plain that the Creator designed these different forms of birds and other creatures for a particular purpose. If a naturalist is studying birds (and it is so with other departments), he finds those which get their living in a particular manner, are constructed, or built, so to speak, on a similar plan, and he groups the birds according to this plan as shown in their structure. You would not class the duck and the hen, or the pigeon and the hawk together, and while you, perhaps, could not tell at once all their differences, you know that they are fitted in their feet, their bills, and all their parts, each for a particular mode of life. Everybody, even young people, are naturalists to some extent. Those who make a special study of birds, are called ornithologists, as they study ornithology - a pretty long word, but perhaps it will not seem hard or difficult to remember if you know that it means "bird-discourse," or as we may say, "bird-talk"; the name, when it was found necessary to have one, was made from the Greek ornis, a bird, and logos, a discourse, and means the science of birds. Ornithologists differ as to the manner in which they group or classify birds, but they nearly all agree in having a group or order of Waders. These are birds with very long bill, neck and legs, and a very short tail; the leg is also bare of feathers for some distance above the lower joint, and they mostly live in marshes, or on the shores near the water. These are further divided into several sub-orders, on account of minor differences, but they all agree in the leading points here named. The Waders include birds of various sizes, from the little plovers and sand-pipers, up to the bitterns, the herons, and the cranes.

To show the general appearance of the Waders, and at the same time give the portrait of a rather rare bird, here is a picture of what is called the Whooping Crane, which is found in the States of the Valley of the Mississippi, in the Gulf States, and occasionally in the Middle States. It is one of the grandest of our native birds, it being between four and five feet long. Its plumage is entirely white, except some black on the wings, its legs are black, the head carmine. The two birds shown in the engraving, are not different cranes, but an old and a young one. The young does not appear in a white dress the first season, but goes about in modest gray and brown, and it has been mistaken for a different bird. The flight of this crane is very high and rapid, and as they pass far over head, their coarse note, which gives them the name of Whooping Crane, may be heard for a great distance. It is stated hat when mating, the male birds have severe fights, and that their cries at this time have been heard for three miles. They feed upon small fishes, frogs and other reptiles, and upon the roots of various plants that grow in muddy places. As they pass from North to South, they are said to stop on the sweet-potato fields, to search for any potatoes that may be left in digging. Travellers on the far western prairie, where the air is so peculiar that all different things are strangely magnified, tell numerous stories of being deceived by this bird. One teamster followed one of these cranes for several miles, thinking that it was a mule that had strayed from the camp; and an old hunter has been known to crawl a long distance on his belly to get a shot at what he took for an antelope, and he only found out his mistake when his antelope took wing and flew off as a Whooping Crane. They are exceedingly quick to catch the least sound, and if once alarmed, they keep on the alert. It is said that these birds were formerly found in New Jersey and other Eastern States, but they have been killed off or frightened away from all the thickly settled parts of the country. That any one should wish to kill such a noble bird, that is not useful for food, and does no harm to any one, seems not only thoughtless, but wicked. We do not envy the feelings of one who, for the sake of shooting something, can stop the flight of this beautiful white Crane, and see it drop a lifeless mass of useless flesh and blood-stained feathers. Audubon states that they become very tame in captivity, and he gives an account of the odd and suspicious ways of one that he had.

From the American Agriculturist.

Affray Between Whooping Crane and Farmer in Historic Tennessee

This is such an interesting and unique account of a Whooping Crane, in this case dealing with a farmer along the Hatchee River in Tennessee, that the original article is presented in its entirety, as first published in the Cincinnati Chronicle in 1832. The crane had probably been injured or wounded and suffered a fate best described by the narrative.

Novel Combat With a Bird.

By a friend residing in Tennessee, we have been politely favored with the following account of a fierce and extraordinary contest, between a man and a bird which occurred on the banks of the Hatcheee, not far distant from Bolivar. The gentleman to whom we are indebted for this narrative, is one of unimpeachable veracity. It is, perhaps, considering the character of the combatants, as unique and bloody a battle, as can be found on record.

"About three months since, a farmer living four or five miles up the Hatchee, was searching on the bottom land of that river, for strayed cattle, when he observed something of unusual appearance pass through the thicket, which he pursued, and soon discovered to be a large bird. The bird attempted to rise, but its wings becoming impeded by the bushes or cane, had no chance to get off that way, and finding itself gained upon by its pursuer, it turned upon him. Somewhat surprised by this unexpected attack, he started to run from it — tript and fell : the bird dashed at him, with wings, beak and claws; and the man found it necessary to turn immediately on his face; but finding himself sorely annoyed by his antagonist, and his knife-blade coming out of the haft, (a shoe-knife,) he scrambled up and ran, the bird pursued but a short distance, stopping at his hat, (which had fallen off in the flight,) on which he commenced a ferocious attack : after which he returned towards the water. A man of more than six feet high, and weighing about 180 lbs. to be beaten by a bird! — this would not do to tell. The blade of the knife was searched for, found, and fitted to the handle, and two sticks cut, one with a fork, to yoke the enemy's neck in his advance, - the other to strike him with. The bird was soon found, and nothing loth, returned to the combat. The onset of the feathered biped was so severe and sudden, that the forked stick missed his neck, and only a sudden movement of the head, probably saved an eye of the man from the bill of the bird. The struggle now became most violent for the man had seized the bird by the neck, while the bird dealt him such blows with his wings, and so tore him with his claws, that a very coarse shirt was literally torn off his back. At last the bird was strangled, and lay apparently lifeless at the feet of the conqueror. — While, however, he was taking breath and rest after his toil, his feathered enemy fell unexpectedly again upon him — having now revived : another struggle ensued — the coup de col was resorted to a second time, with success; and the bird being again strangled, his adversary gnawed his windpipe in two, having lost his knife, and being completely tired of his contest.

"This is an interesting fact to ornithologists, and the curious generally. The bird was purely white, except at the head of the wings — head bald — a bunch of feathers over the rump — bill 9 or 10 inches long - eight feet high — wings 9 feet from tip to tip — legs and feet resembling a turkey's, but stout — large knees and thighs — its cry very harsh, resembling as my informant says, that of a jack ass! He declares 'its braying was right frightful.' I have conversed with several persons who saw the bird after it was dead one of whom has brought me several feathers, which are bright and beautiful, and promised me a wing, both of which have been preserved; but the body, unfortunately, was left for the hogs to destroy. The body and face of the man were examined two months after the battle, by a respectable physician of this place, and he asserts that the wounds strongly corroborated the story. I have no doubt of the facts. The bird was undoubtedly the whooping crane.

"Bolivar Ten., July 10, 1832."

Included with the article was the account for the whooping crane, Grus Americana as published in the Encyclopedia Americana.

Whoopers at Playa Wetland Amidst Potential Turbine Project

The occurrence of two adult Whooping Cranes has been confirmed at a playa wetland on the West Table, west of Broken Bow.

The two birds were first noted by Maxine and Ed Wehling on Saturday April 18, at 7:30 p.m. The wetland is just a few miles northwest of the Wehling place.

"Saturday night, Ed and I were driving the wetland playas, looking," Maxine Wehling wrote in an email. "We found the strikingly beautiful whoopers about 7:30 p.m., in the large wetland," that was featured in a story recently written about the central table playas.

"We were thrilled to see them. They are breath-taking to look upon. The one was slightly larger in the body, and would flap it's wings, pick it's feet off the ground, and do a dance of sorts!"

"We called the whooper watch number to report the siting, followed by calls to Ben Wheeler."

The presence of the cranes was confirmed by Wheeler on Sunday morning.

The wetland where the whoopers were noted is the third wetland pictured in the article, and located about five miles northwest of the Wehling place.

Winter Season of Troubles and Success for Whooping Cranes

Although there is a record population of endangered whooping cranes at their wintering grounds at Aransas NWR in Texas, it has been a “frustrating winter.”

The known population of 270 wild cranes – 232 adults and 38 juveniles – is a record number, according to Tom Stehn, the whooping crane coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

However, “the total numbers are a disappointment,” he said. “Thirty-eight juveniles added to the population of 266 could have resulted in 304 whooping cranes arriving at Aransas. If 270 is a reasonable estimate of what did arrive, it means 34 whooping cranes, or 12.8% of the flock, died between spring and fall, 2008.”

Conditions not documented at Aransas in 26 years, have made it a difficult wintering season along the gulf coast of Texas. In an update, Stehn noted:

1) “Natural marsh foods were at low levels due to the prolonged drought. Blue crabs were present initially, (an important food source for whooping cranes that make up 80-90% of their diet when available), but crab numbers dropped off through November. Blue crabs were scarce throughout December and January as tides were lowered by low pressure systems and most of the remaining crabs moved out into the deeper bays.

2) “The fall wolfberry crop was very low, a food that the cranes normally rely on heavily. Thus, the cranes were ill-prepared to face the scarcity of crabs.

3) “Marsh salinities have remained above the threshold of 21 parts per thousand that forces cranes to seek out fresh water to drink.”

So far this winter, five whooping cranes are believed to have died, Stehn said. A necropsy of the two carcasses recovered showed the birds were emaciated, indicating a lack of sufficient food. During a typical winter, there is none, or just one, death.

“Whooping cranes are being seen in unusual places this winter, Stehn said. “Many have left the salt marsh and are feeding on uplands. Up to four cranes foraged daily in the farm fields north of the refuge through December. A record 21 whooping cranes are wintering on the Lamar Peninsula utilizing game feeders in locations where we have never seen cranes before.

“Due to the food shortages, the unusual distribution of cranes observed, and the two emaciated crane carcasses recovered, supplemental feeding of whooping cranes with corn on the Aransas / Matagorda Island NWR complex has been initiated and will be continued for at least one month. Prescribed burns have also been conducted to provide additional foraging opportunities.”

These actions have been taken by refuge officials to help nourish the cranes, and provide a boost to their physical condition to avoid potential nesting problems this breeding season.

“Research done by Dr. Felipe Chavez-Ramirez in 1994 documented that up to 37% of the whooping cranes failed to nest following a poor blue crab winter at Aransas NWR,” Stehn wrote in his report.

Other unexpected behavior has been juvenile cranes separating from their parents. This occurred with two birds at Aransas. A third bird spent the late autumn and early winter in south-central Nebraska, departing in early December for Oklahoma, and remaining there until late January.

Crane biologists’s currently do not know the whereabouts of any of these birds. Juveniles typically remain with their parents through the winter season.

The whooping cranes will remain in the area of Aransas NWR until they depart sometime in the March for the 2500 mile flight to their ancestral breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park, in the Northwest Territories Province of Canada.

The group of cranes in Texas is a population distinct from the cranes that are the result of a program to reintroduce this species to the eastern states.

“There are now 73 migratory whooping cranes in the wild in eastern North America,” according to Fish and Wildlife Service officials, “including the first whooping crane chick to hatch in the wild in Wisconsin in more than a century. Many of these cranes have settled into their wintering locations in parts of the Southeast, including Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida. State partners from Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia provided strong support throughout the migration.”

A group of seven cranes, led by an ultra-light sponsored by Operation Migration, recently arrived at St. Marks NWR in Florida, after a successful journey of more than 1200 miles from their summering grounds at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. Additional cranes are at Chassahowitzka NWR, north of St. Petersburg.

This article was published first at Blogger News Network

Expedition in 1853 Notes the Importance of Aransas Bay for Fowl in the Winter

During 1850-1853, an expeditionary force was assigned to define the northern boundary of Mexico. The leader of the United States-Mexican boundary Commission, 45-year-old John Russell Bartlett, kept a personal narrative of explorations and incidents in Texas, New Mexico, California, Sonora and Chihuahua.

The preface to the lengthy account said: "...of the botany and zoology I have endeavored to keep before the reader a correct idea of the character of the country throughout which he was to follow me, without lists and descriptions, scientific or otherwise, of every plant, quadruped, bird, and reptile that came in my way."

Notes about local birds among the daily diary entries, started soon after the party got underway. A first notation in September 1850, referred to prairie fowl, curlew and quail at Indianola, on the gulf coast of Texas. Subsequent mentions - only periodically in Bartlett's ongoing narrative - typically only cited one or two generic types of birds such as ducks, teal, plover, sparrows and blackbirds.

In one instance on October 20, 1850, when traversing a plateau near Bradys Creek in west-central Texas, a vast prairie dog town - including "small brown owls" that flitted about - was enough of an inspiration that Bartlett drew a sketch which also depicted the Burrowing Owls. The men and their wagons marched for three hours through the "dog-town," with it extending onward far enough to be present during the entire next day. On the 22nd, the day's entry said: "The community and domain of the prairie dogs, which we entered two days ago, continues." The locale may have been a wintering habitat for the owls. On the 23rd, more owls were noted when beyond "Potato Spring" and near Antelope Creek.

The brief mentions of birds for this expedition account are interesting records, but certainly are not a significant contribution to historic ornithology for the region visited.

However, near the end of the survey expedition early in 1853, Bartlett remarked on the conditions where a great number of fowl were present on the eastern extent of Corpus Christi Bay. This notation is exquisite for the inference of the presence of a particular species.

"January 5th. The morning found us on the opposite side of Corpus Christi Bay, a light breeze wafting us eastwards towards Aransas Pass. The navigation here is carried on with boats of light burden through the shallow bays or lagunas, which line the west and north-west shores of the Gulf of Mexico. These bays are exceedingly shallow, sometimes presented a breadth of ten or fifteen miles, by a hundred or more in length. Yet these broad spaces of water are often not more than three or four feet deep, even in the middle. This depth would admit flat-bottomed vessels of large capacity, were it not for the numerous bars which intersect them, sometimes leaving but a few inches of water; hence, none but flat-bottomed boats can navigate these waters, and even these may be suddenly arrested in their progress, should a norther occur and drive the water out of the bays.

"Our course lay through a channel less than twenty yards wide for miles, with bars of sand on both sides but an inch or two above the water. These were covered with myriads of water-fowl, including cranes, swans, herons, ibises, geese, ducks, curlews, plover, sand-pipers, etc. The large cranes and swans stood in lines extending for miles, appearing like a light sandy beach or white cliff; and it was impossible to dispel the delusion, until the vast flock, with a simultaneous scream that could be heard for miles, rose from their resting place. Occasionally, we would round a point which concealed a bay the surface of which was filled with ducks and geese; these, taking the alarm, would rise in one continuous flock, making a noise like thunder, as they flapped their wings on emerging from the water. Notwithstanding the vast numbers of these birds, I shot but few; for the water was so shallow that we could not get within gun shot of them with our boat. With a light skiff, and a few bushes or a bunch of grass, a gunnder would have such sport as no other portion of the world can surpass."

Their route continued until entering Aransas Bay, later in the day's boat trip, just days before Bartlett explorations were to end, and he returned to the east coast.

This entry is certainly notable for its mention of the large cranes, with its additional notation to their appearing as part of a "white cliff" with the swans.

This can be interpreted as referring to a large white crane, which can be readily distinguishable as the Whooping Crane, rather than the smaller, gray crane, which would be the Sandhill Crane. And the notation is about cranes, not herons, or egrets. It is possible that the Great Egret and Snowy Egret were also among the species present, since this is an area where the species would occur in January.

Bartlett's notes obviously indicate an extensive number of the particular cranes, spread along a distance given in "miles" rather than for just a short distance. There must have been a very large number present, indicating the importance of the locale as wintering habitat.

The scene was obviously remarkable, presenting an impression dramatic enough for Bartlett to mention a greater variety of bird types than he noted on any other occasion during the 2.5 years of the boundary survey.

More than 150 years later, Aransas Bay is still the winter home for the remaining remnant - compared to historic numbers - of the interior population of Whooping Cranes.

Record Year for the Endangered Whooping Cranes in Central Canada

With the onset of nesting and hatched young of the Whooping Cranes this summer, wildlife officials flew in to conduct the annual census of this endangered species at Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada. Aerial surveys were done “soon after most of the chicks had hatched to try to maximize the number” observed.

The wetland region west of Lake Athabasca and south of Great Slave Lake, is the sole breeding habitat for the species. These plains of the Peace-Athabasca Delta are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar wetland of international significance.

A May survey by Brian Johns and Lea Craig-Moore of the Canadian Wildlife Service, located 62 nests during the survey of breeding pairs, according to the May 19 online survey report.

Fish and Wildlife Service pilot “Jim Bredy along with Brian Johns and Tom Stehn conducted whooping crane production surveys June 13-18, 2007. Three additional nests were located... The surveys located a record 65 nests and record 84 chicks, including 28 sets of twins.”

There were 62 nests in 2006 at the national park habitats, with 76 chicks that included 24 sets of twins.

“Fifty-six of the 65 nests (86.2%) produced one or more chicks. This is a very high percentage and comparable to other excellent production years (3% in 2005, 85% in 2004 and 86% in 1997). Of the 9 pairs that failed to hatch an egg, 2 of those pairs had their eggs predated in May and one bird was sitting on a nest with no eggs.

“Of the pairs that potentially could have had chicks in June, 56 of the 62 actually did. Thus, the record chick production in 2007 resulted from both high productivity and a large number of nests. Two pairs that are well known at Aransas (Lobstick and Big Tree) both had twin chicks in June.

“An estimated 4 known adult pairs failed to nest but were sighted present on their territories, comparable to the 10 pairs that failed to nest in 2006. Thus, there are a minimum of 69 breeding pairs in the population.

“A record 65 nests and 84 chicks, including 28 sets of twins, were surveyed. This compares to 2006 when 62 nests, 76 chicks and 24 sets of twins were found.

“This year’s record chick production was a result of both high productivity and the high number of nests,” said Tom Stehn whooping crane coordinator, based at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

“Favorable, warm weather” was “a big factor in the chick’s survival,” according to the aerial survey report. During the season, “habitat conditions were better than expected with water levels thought to be slightly above average. The weather during the June production surveys was exceptionally warm with no cold, wet weather.” “The North American population of whooping cranes now exceeds 500 birds for the first time in 100 years,” Stehn said.

This number of adult pairs on the surveys were “close to the 67 adult pairs identified present” during the 2006-07 winter at Aransas NWR.

Whooping Crane Recovery Program

Other wildbirds of the park area include "a typical community of boreal forest and wetland birds including Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and Bald Eagle," according to information at Birdlife International. The Peregrine Falcon also occurs.