Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

January 15, 2009 Project Update

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January 2009 Population Status

As of mid- January 2009 we have 73 wild birds in the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane population, and many have settled into their wintering locations. The most recent information indicates that as of January 14, there are 4 birds in Georgia, 7 in Alabama, 4 in South Carolina, 15-19 in Tennessee, and at least 31 birds in Florida (see map below). The rest of the birds in the population were at unknown locations or of undetermined status.

2008 Ultralight Cohort

Since departing on October 17, southward progress of the 14 cranes for the ultralight project has been slow. Following a break in the migration for the Holidays between December 18 and 28, the cranes continued their southward progress and arrived January 14 at a stopover in Jefferson County, Florida, where they were divided into two carefully selected groups. On the next flight day, one group of birds will be led to their newly constructed pen at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), with the remainder of the young whooping cranes proceeding onward to their ultimate destination at Chassahowitzka NWR. Each of the two groups of young cranes will be carefully monitored throughout the winter, until they depart on their own for the migration back to Wisconsin. To see the entries posted throughout the migration of the ultralight cohort, see the Operation Migration web site at http://www.operationmigration.org/Field_Journal.html.

2008 DAR Cohort

Of the six surviving birds released using the DAR technique this year, all are continuing to associate with older whooping cranes. As of January 14, four birds were located in Tennessee, and two birds are now in Florida.

Aransas-Wood Buffalo Wild Flock

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock is the only natural wild population of whooping cranes, and all whooping cranes are the descendants of 15 birds surviving in this population in 1941. Cranes in this population nest in Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories and Alberta, Canada, and winter in and near Aransas NWR on the Texas gulf coast. The most recent winter census conducted January 8, 2009 estimated a peak flock size of 270 whooping cranes, including 38 juveniles. The 270 total is a record total, 4 higher than last winter. However, two whooping cranes have died at Aransas since the fall migration, leaving the estimated flock size currently at 268.

Florida Non-Migratory Flock

In 1993, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) began releasing whooping cranes in central Florida in an effort to establish a non-migratory flock of whooping cranes. The establishment of additional populations of whooping cranes is identified as a primary recovery action in the International Whooping Crane Recovery Plan. Between 1993 and 2004, 289 captive-raised whooping cranes were released in central Florida, and in 2002, the first wild-hatched chick was produced. Between 1999 and 2008, a total of 68 nesting attempts resulted in 31 chicks hatched, and 9 fledged. Throughout the reintroduction project, this population has been plagued by high levels of mortality and low reproduction, and as of late summer 2008 there were 30 birds surviving in the population. In September 2008 the Recovery Team recommended that no further releases of whooping cranes be made into the Florida non-migratory population.

In a November news release, the Florida FWC indicated that the decision was based on “a variety of reasons, including problems with survival and reproduction, both of which have been complicated by drought. Additional considerations included shorter-than-expected life spans, scarcity of birds for release, project costs and the loss of habitat from development. The team felt that project resources and birds produced in captivity could be better used for other whooping crane releases as well as to maintain the captive flock”. You can read the entire news release at: http://research.myfwc.com/news/view_article.asp?id=31345

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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Last updated: April 15, 2009