The Aransas Project

Texas drought twists migrations of many birds

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:00:41 +0000

MAD ISLAND, Texas (AP) — Strange things are aloft in the bird world.

Endangered whooping cranes flew 2,500 miles from Canada to Texas, where they usually spend the whole winter. Instead, they pecked around for a short time and flew back. In Nebraska, other cranes never left.

Some ducks just kept flying south — all the way to Belize in Central America. And a snowy owl was spotted near Dallas, only the sixth time that’s ever happened.

Throughout the winter, scientists have noticed these and other examples of bizarre bird migrations — a result, they believe, of flocks becoming desperate for food and habitat becoming increasingly scarce because of the stubborn drought in Texas. The unusually mild winter in the Northeast and Midwest has even persuaded some birds they could stay put, fly shorter distances or turn back north earlier than normal.

“We have birds scattered all over the place looking for habitat right now,” said Richard Kostecke, a bird expert and associate director of conservation, research and planning at the Nature Conservancy in Texas.

The concerns go beyond a few lost flocks. Migratory birds often use the winter months to rest, eat and gain energy for the long journey back to their nesting grounds, so biologists can only guess at the effects of this season’s peculiar movements.

What will happen if the birds’ diets are altered or if they expend too much energy? What if they fail to migrate at all? Will they still be able to breed after a stressful winter?

“You may see a cascade of impacts,” Kostecke said. “We don’t know exactly where things will end up.”

In a typical winter, the Texas Gulf Coast is packed with tens of thousands of birds — songbirds, waterfowl, catbirds, gnatcatchers, warblers and other migrants. But this year, an annual count done just before Christmas found the population had dropped steeply.

The number of water-dwelling birds was down significantly. Geese, for example, were 61 percent below their 19-year average. Dabbling ducks dropped 43 percent, diving ducks 60 percent and spoonbills 74 percent.

Part of the problem is lack of food. The drought — the worst one-year dry spell in Texas history — parched thousands of acres of wetlands along the coast, a habitat that is normally rich with fish, seafood, berries and insects. Read the entire article »

Aransas Refuge Estimates 245 Whooping Cranes

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:56:09 +0000

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge biologists now estimate the population of whooping cranes to be approximately 245 individuals within their survey area. This number does not include whoopers known to be in at least five other Texas counties and other states. Some of the birds are moving around off the refuge for reasons not fully understood. It is believed that the whoopers may be seeking additional food sources. The refuge’s January 2012 survey consisted of three flights conducted on January 26, 27, and 29th. Survey biologists searched Matagorda Island, San Jose Island, Blackjack Peninsula, Lamar Peninsula, Dewberry Island and Welder Flats. A second round of survey flights will take place in mid to late February.

Biologists are receiving many reports of whooping cranes outside the survey area in the following Texas counties: Matagorda, Refugio, Calhoun, Aransas, Williamson, San Patricio, Maverick, and Caldwell. Whooping cranes of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population are also currently residing in other states as far north as Nebraska. These cranes are naturally supplementing their own food sources by wintering around freshwater lakes and other marshes.

Refuge personnel continue to help alleviate low food resources by doing more prescribed burns. This winter they have burned 8,095 acres of habitat. Whooping cranes have been observed eating the roasted acorns and other food sources in burned areas. An additional 6,129 acres are planned to be burned while whooping crane remain on their winter habitat

Whooping crane with sandhill cranes in Texas rice field. Photo by Leanne Sliva

Fortunately some rains have fallen of Aransas Refuge recently. The first two weeks of February produced a total of 1.89 inches of rain. Water salinity levels have dropped due to recent freshwater inflows from rain in Central Texas, as well as localized rainfall. Salinity levels in San Antonio Bay are currently recorded as 19.9 parts per thousand. Salinity levels in surrounding bays still remain higher than normal which forces whooping cranes to expend more energy flying to fresh water sources. Read the entire article »

TAP Trial to Provide Water to Whooping Cranes, Bays Concludes

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:42:47 +0000

After a two-week trial in federal district court in Corpus Christi, the trial concluded yesterday afternoon in The Aransas Project’s lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act to ensure adequate freshwater inflows to San Antonio Bay to protect the endangered whooping cranes that winter at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

The Court has requested post-trial briefs from the parties rather than closing arguments, and those will be submitted on a schedule determined by the Court.

After the trial, TAP’s lead attorney Jim Blackburn said, “We feel very positive about the case that we presented to the Court. Judge Jack indicated at the close of the trial that she intends to very thoroughly review the record, and that the parties should not expect a decision until sometime this summer. In terms of the case, we will focus on our post-trial briefs, and then await the decision of the Court.”

On behalf of The Aransas Project, we would like to thank all of our members for your continued support. We will continue to keep you informed regarding developments in the case as they occur. We also encourage all of you to come and visit the cranes who are currently at Aransas. We’ll continue to monitor their status, amidst the tough drought this year, and keep you posted on that as well.

Dead whooping crane found at Aransas Refuge

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:40:04 +0000

Biologist notes bad conditions for the endangered species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported the death of the first whooping crane this season at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on Monday.

The body of the endangered bird was found after scientists noted that the radio transmitter attached to its leg was not moving from its established territory on Matagorda Island.

“It could have been predation,” Refuge Manager Dan Alonso said. “It could have been a multiple of things.”

The results of the necropsy are not expected for several weeks and will likely not be conclusive, but the death of a crane this early in the wintering season does not bode well for the rest of the flock, said former refuge biologist Tom Stehn, who monitored the cranes at the refuge from 1982 until his retirement this fall.

The marshes the birds depend on for their winter forage are in one of the worst droughts on record. The water has a high salinity and the cranes’ preferred food source, blue crabs, are scarce, according to refuge reports.

“I’ve run across that combination seven times in the last 20 years, and all seven times there was higher than average crane mortality,” Stehn said. “That is not putting the finger on the causation, but it is certainly saying this is not good conditions for the cranes this winter.”

Read the entire article »

Expert thinks more cranes died in 2009

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:27:27 +0000

CORPUS CHRISTI — The biologist whose intimate knowledge of the endangered whooping crane has made him almost a father figure to the flock testified Tuesday that the number of birds that died in the hard winter of 2008-09 was probably higher than the 23 he counted.

In his 29 years studying the birds at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, their winter home, Tom Stehn said it’s not difficult to figure out when an adult or chick is missing.

“These cranes are like my kids,” he told the courtroom where the birds are at the center of a federal lawsuit.

The case, being heard by Judge Janis Jack without a jury, could upend the allocation of water in two major rivers if it can be proved that the birds are harmed by insufficient freshwater reaching the Gulf bays and estuaries where they feed. The winter of 2008-09 was, like this year, drought-stricken and the blue crab that is the birds’ favorite food was in short supply because the marshes were highly saline.

Stehn thinks his report of 23 deaths was low because he did not have an accurate count of the “sub adults,” 1 to 4 years old, that don’t defend a territory but roam around the refuge and surrounding bays and marshland.

He said his bird counts are an actual census, not surveys with population estimates, with an accuracy rate of 97 to 99 percent. Read the entire article »

Judge wants expert on whooping cranes called to the stand

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:19:47 +0000

CORPUS CHRISTI — The federal judge presiding over a lawsuit about whooping cranes, specifically how to protect the endangered flock that winters near here, insisted Monday that crane expert and retired federal employee Tom Stehn be called to testify.

Usually, the federal government does not allow employees to be questioned in court because they possess confidential information, a government lawyer told the judge.

But U.S. District Judge Janis Jack was not convinced and directed John Smith, a Justice Department lawyer, to prepare to make his case for keeping Stehn off the stand by this morning.

Within hours after the trial started Monday, Stehn’s research was already a focal point. For more than two decades, until his recent retirement, he was the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s crane coordinator at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, where the flock, migrating annually from Canada, now numbers about 300.

A coalition of environmentalists and businesses is suing the state, claiming that Texas has failed to keep enough fresh water flowing into bays and estuaries to support the birds’ diet, including the much- favored blue crab. The state denies its actions hurt the cranes.

Jack had assumed that Stehn would be called to testify, but when she learned otherwise, she swiftly called for him to be subpoenaed immediately.

Read the entire article »

Corpus Christi court case centered on whooping cranes, water underway

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:10:52 +0000

Lawsuit claims Texas Commission on Environmental Quality violated Endangered Species Act

CORPUS CHRISTI — A federal trial that could have profound effects on Texas’ management of surface water used for drinking, agriculture and industry started Monday morning in Corpus Christi, and one rare bird — the endangered whooping crane — was the center of attention.

The outcome of the case could change the way Texas balances the rights of water users with the health of the environment, or it could affirm the water permitting process already in place under state law.

“It’s a very interesting case to me,” U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack told more than a dozen lawyers in her courtroom. “My husband and I are birders, so we also like the whooping cranes and appreciate what they do for the area.”

The Aransas Project, a nonprofit group of local governments, advocacy groups and tourism-dependent businesses in the Coastal Bend, filed a federal lawsuit last year claiming the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality violated the Endangered Species Act by not providing adequate freshwater flow from the rivers into San Antonio Bay.

The organization claims the commission’s mismanagement altered the salt content of the bay, wreaking havoc with crabs, wolfberries and other food sources, and killing 23 members of the only naturally occurring wild flock of whooping cranes. The birds spend each winter at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

To protect the birds, the Aransas Project wants the state to create a new plan for managing withdrawals from the Guadalupe and San Antonio river systems. The river water is used by cities including San Antonio, and by farmers, industries and other private property owners. Water rights holders pay for the lawful removal of river water.

Aransas Project attorney Jim Blackburn said the Guadalupe River has been over-allocated to the point that if all the water held by rights holders was to be removed, the river would run dry. Blackburn said the Texas Legislature has refused to address this issue, despite burgeoning water demands, a growing population and the threat of prolonged drought. Read the entire article »

Aransas Project lawsuit blaming state for whooping crane die-off goes to trial Monday

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:05:49 +0000

CORPUS CHRISTI — The state’s river water management is being challenged by an Aransas County group that claims the state is partially to blame for a 2009 whooping crane die off.

The Aransas Project, a nonprofit group that advocates responsible water management for the Guadalupe River, filed a federal lawsuit last year claiming the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality violated the Endangered Species Act by not providing adequate freshwater inflow from the river basin into San Antonio Bay system.

The organization claims the commission’s mismanagement resulted in harm to the last wild flock of endangered whooping cranes, which spend each winter at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

The trial is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. today at the U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi. Attorneys expect the trial to last about two weeks.

Houston environmental attorney Jim Blackburn Jr., who will argue the case on behalf of The Aransas Project, said the state Legislature has failed to address the issue of getting enough freshwater to the state’s bays.

“Unfortunately it may take an endangered species to get their attention,” he said. “The state has failed. The court is the last remaining hope for a solution. I wish it hadn’t come to this. But its our only hope for getting water to our bays.”

The refuge’s winter population of more than 200 whoopers lost 23 birds during the 2008-09 drought, in part, biologists say, because its main food source, the blue crab, was severely depleted because of the lack of freshwater. Read the entire article »

Whooping cranes spark a water war: Federal lawsuit is filed that could have an impact all the way to San Antonio.

admin — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:20:54 +0000

FULTON — The whooping crane, the majestic bird slowly making its way back from the brink of extinction, is returning to the Texas coast in record numbers, with as many as 300 expected.

This could be a hard winter for the endangered species, however, because a severe drought has left the marshes saltier than usual and without the abundance of plump blue crabs they like to eat.

Working in pairs, the cranes can be seen all along the shores of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, rooting through the mud and coming up empty.

These conditions, made worse by a toxic algae bloom in the Gulf, could bolster a federal lawsuit filed by a local group against Texas over how much water is needed to sustain the species.

The outcome of the case, which goes to trial Monday, could further limit the allocation of water in the basins of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers and ultimately affect San Antonio water and energy customers.

The drought, the worst one-year event on record, has decreased the flow of fresh water from the rivers into the marshes and bays where the cranes congregate for the winter before flying 2,500 miles back to their summer breeding grounds in northern Alberta, Canada.

Some biologists say the conditions in Texas this year remind them of late 2008, which was the beginning of the deadliest winter on record for the flock.

As many as 23 cranes perished then, nearly 8 percent, which was the largest die-off ever recorded, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those deaths prompted the suit against the state in federal court.

That suit, which pits environmentalists and the local governments and businesses of Aransas County against the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and water suppliers, will be tried in Corpus Christi, about 40 miles from the refuge.

The Aransas Project, an environmental coalition, has accused the state of putting the cranes in harm’s way with its management of the fresh water flowing into the birds’ habitat.

“The future of the whooping crane hangs on the outcome of the trial,” said Jim Blackburn, the Houston attorney for the Aransas Project. “Federal intervention is the only chance for its long-term survival.” Read the entire article »

Lawsuit Seeks Water Priority for Cranes

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:17:38 +0000

A wild flock of 300 whooping cranes flies from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to the Aransas marshes of the Texas Gulf Coast each year. The flock is expected to arrive in Texas sometime in December. The endangered birds are at the center of a federal court case in Corpus Christi that starts on Monday.

The whooping cranes spend the winter in Texas foraging for their favorite foods: blue crabs and wolfberries. Environmentalists with a group called the Aransas Project say there won’t be much food available.

Jim Blackburn is the attorney representing the Aransas Project. The group is suing the state for not allowing enough fresh water to flow into the marshes where the cranes live.

“We believe the rivers are currently overallocated and that basically little to no flow is reaching the San Antonio Bay system during times of drought,” Blackburn said.

He says 23 cranes died during the 2008 drought. The Aransas Project believes they died because the bays were too salty — too much water was being drawn from rivers, and not enough fresh water was making it to the coast.

“The state of Texas is causing harm by changing the habitat, by changing the availability of food and ultimately by causing the death of these whooping cranes by the way it manages the water inflows on Guadalupe and San Antonio River systems,” Blackburn said.

Read the entire article »