Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

Early December 2008 Project Update

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December 2008 Population and Fall Migration Status

As of early December 2008 there are 88 birds in the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane population, consisting of 74 previously released birds and the 14 birds of the ultralight cohort. All but one (MI) have now departed from their summer locations. The first migration movements of the fall began in late October, but the majority of migration departures occurred between November 15 and 20. The most recent information indicates the approximate distribution shown on the map below, which does not include thirteen birds not recently located in their migration. We expect additional movements in the days/weeks ahead, although some birds have already arrived in the areas where they will spend the winter.

2008 Ultralight Cohort

Since departing October 17, southward progress of the14 cranes for the ultralight project has been hampered by several large and persistent weather systems that have prevented travel on numerous days. Operation Migration reports that all birds have flown well together and they are pleased with their new more westerly route. As of December 3, these birds had travelled 525 miles, and were at their second stop in Kentucky. For daily updates on the progress of the ultralight cohort, see the Operation Migration web site at http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html.

2008 DAR Cohort

Of the seven birds released using the DAR technique this year, all are currently migrating with older whooping cranes. As of the end of November, four birds were located in northern Illinois, two birds in southern Indiana, and one bird was previously lost to a predator in Wisconsin.

Reporting Sightings

Please forward any sightings you receive to us through the whooping crane reporting web site we have established for that purpose: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/whoopingcrane/sightings/sightingform.cfm

The link above provides a public reporting form on a site maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). When a report is submitted, the information goes simultaneously to multiple partners including the biologists who are tracking the birds, FWS, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, International Crane Foundation, and Operation Migration.
This update is a product of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. To access additional information on the project, as well as copies of previous updates, visit our web site at http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/.

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