Whooping Crane Calls and Vocalizations

Recordings of whooping crane calls and vocalizations are an important component of the whooping crane reintroduction project.  In the last years of the "Sandhill Migration Study", the avoidance of any human sounds was tested, even avoidance of the human imitation of the cranes' "purr" contact call. Instead, digital recordings of authentic crane calls were played from small wristheld loudspeakers and from big loudspeakers attached to the ultralight airplanes.  The crane calls and hardware were provided by Dr. Bernhard Wessling from Germany.

Last year (2000 - during the Sandhill Crane Study), six different calls or "vocal expressions" from wild sandhills were used. This year, for the real Whooping Crane Release and Migration Project, seven different calls and "vocal expressions" are in use.  Those calls include the "contact" call, "defense /aggression" call, "flight" vocalizations, and "attention" or the unison call.  All of these calls were recorded in the wild from the last remaining naturally reproducing whooping craneflock.

Vocal communication using natural sounds from wild whooping cranes reduces imprinting on the human body shape (of the costumed handlers and pilots).  Last year (during the sandhill crane experiment), for the first time it was an easy job to get the crane chicks to follow the aircraft into the air. Also, it was possible to call the cranes back "home," during the migration, when they were led away by wild sandhill cranes. Landing on the small island in the wintering area (no airstrip) was easy: with a strong loudspeaker, the contact call was expressed from the ground, while the loudspeaker at the airplane was shut down - the cranes left the airplane and landed near the loudspeaker."

-----

Dr. Bernhard Wessling is a German chemist and entrepreneur who has been active for over 20 years as a volunteer in crane protection and research. His main focus (besides protection projects) is behaviour, including 5 years of vocal communication and identification research. He developed a technique for recording, computer analysing and "voice printing" cranes which gives the possibility to monitor crane individuals and pairs over many years but from a distance without having to touch them. It is possible to monitor their territorial and partnership fidelity - with surprising results.  Dr. Wessling is involved in five German and international monitoring projects, including recovery of the last wild Whooping Crane population.  His Craneworld website has more information about whooping cranes, crane vocalizations and his research.

Home