Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

Mid-November 2008 Project Update

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November 2008 Population and Fall Migration Status
As of mid-November 2008 we have 74 wild birds in the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane population, and many have recently initiated migration. The first significant migration movement of the fall occurred November 15 when 9 birds left the Necedah NWR area, followed by the departure of another 14 on November 17, and 5 on November 18. The most recent information indicates that as of November 18, there were approximately 20 whooping cranes in Illinois, 5 in Indiana, 3 in Michigan, one in Ohio, and 45 remaining in Wisconsin (see map below). With migration currently in progress, the relative locations of these birds are expected to change daily. We expect most of the remaining whooping cranes to commence migration at any time, and all birds to have departed by early December.

2008 Ultralight Cohort
On October 17, the14 cranes for the ultralight project departed Necedah NWR on their way to the wintering sites in Florida. So far, southern progress has been slow due to a large number of days when weather was unsuitable for flying. As of November 18, these birds have made it as far as north central Illinois. 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
The six birds designated for the DAR project were released on the Necedah NWR on October 18. On October 22, a seventh bird was released that had originally been intended for the ultralight project, but was transferred to the DAR project due to aggressive behavior. As of November 19, one of the birds has been lost to a predator, and four of the remaining six birds have commenced migration.

Reporting Sightings
Please be on the alert now for migrants that could be seen in your state, and pass any sightings on 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.

We ask that you communicate to everyone the need to reduce habituation to humans by observing the birds from a safe distance with binoculars and/or spotting scopes. Cranes who become overly tolerant of human presence are at greater risk to numerous hazards that could endanger their well-being. We recognize that some birders may share the specific locations of whooping cranes on local “rare bird alerts”, but we believe that most people are glad to protect the birds by maintaining their distance and allowing these birds to retain a healthy fear of humans. We ask the media not to release any locations more specific than county level.

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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