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Although they’re about a week behind schedule, the two whooping cranes that touched down this week in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge are the forerunners of what is expected to be a record-setting flock.
The rising numbers are encouraging for biologists who study the endangered birds and track their taxing transcontinental journey because even slight changes in weather and habitat can have lasting consequences.
The species’ existence is so tenuous that the flock that winters here is the only naturally occurring flock that migrates without human assistance. Flocks introduced elsewhere in the country have been taught to migrate with the help of ultralight aircraft.
The Aransas flock had a tough winter in 2008-09, when drought conditions brought high salinity to the marshes and hindered blue crabs, a choice prey for whooping cranes. The population was down to 247 but rebounded to 264 in the 2009-2010 winter. Nest surveys from August have biologists predicting as many as 290 birds will make the 2,400-mile journey from Canada to the Coastal Bend this fall.
The previous population high was 270 in fall 2009.
The birds winter along the Texas coast and fatten up before flying back to Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta. There, 46 chicks fledged from a record 74 nests in August, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Tom Stehn.
Stehn’s database of whooping crane sightings shows 21 birds have been spotted along their migration path in October, mostly in North Dakota. A lone wayward bird strayed as far west as Colorado, probably drawn there by its relative, the sandhill crane, Stehn said. Many remain in Canada because of unseasonably warm weather, he said.
While it’s a challenge to survey the birds because their nesting grounds in Canada span millions of acres, Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Lee Ann Linam said the effort has proved worthwhile over the years. The population has risen from 16 birds in the 1940s.
The health of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock tells a larger story about the health of the ecosystem across a broad swath of North America, Linam said.
“You’re talking about habitats and hazards along the way, so we’re really thinking about the whole Great Plains when you’re thinking about what it takes for whooping cranes to survive,” she said.
Rising numbers show that conservation efforts are working, Linam said. Those efforts include partnerships with private landowners who set aside land for habitat conservation and cooperate with habitat improvement projects such as prescribed burns and removing old fences.
Known for their size and their trademark honking sounds, the cranes stand up to 5 feet tall with a wingspan of more than 7 feet, marked by black wingtips and red crowns.
Getting involved:
Whooping cranes are protected by federal and state endangered species laws. You can help by preventing harm or harassment to whooping cranes and reporting sightings to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at 800-792-1112, Ext. 4644 or via e-mail at leeann.linam@tpwd.state.tx.us.
On the Web:
Information on whooping crane sightings and where you can view them from the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife migratory bird page
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/CurrentBirdIssues/SandhillCranes/SandhillCraneHunters.htm
Texas Parks and Wildlife whooping crane page
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/?o=whooper