St. Marks NWR

Local ROTC helps St. Marks NWR Prepare for Whooping Crane Arrival

Wakulla High School ROTC volunteers fill sand bags for construction of an oyster bar for the new whooping crane pen. September 2008

Photo by USFWS: Billy Brooks

The Wakulla High School ROTC helped staff from St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge prepare habitat inside the new whooping crane pen. At a work party held on Saturday, September 27, ROTC volunteers filled 900 sandbags to construct an oyster reef in the pen. The pen will soon be the winter home for a group of young whooping cranes which will be the first to arrive at this newly established wintering site. When completed, the oyster reef will provide a secure roosting area where the young cranes can get in the habit of roosting in water, a behavior essential to protection from predators.

New whooping crane pen at St. Marks NWR, September 2008.

Photo by Billy Brooks

The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) has released young whooping cranes every year since 2001, as part of a project to reintroduce a migratory population to eastern North America. This population currently numbers 73 birds, in addition to the 14 birds currently being led southward behind ultralight aircraft. For the first time, WCEP has decided to split the current-year cohort into two groups. One group will winter at the already established site at Chassahowitzka NWR in Citrus County and the other group will winter at St. Marks NWR. The decision to split the cohort was made to prevent the possible loss of an entire cohort due to a catastrophic event, which did occur in February of 2007 as a result of lightning storms and high tides. Project personnel will monitor the birds throughout their first winter, after which the young cranes will migrate back to Wisconsin on their own.

The survival of young whooping cranes over their first winter is critical to building the numbers needed for population establishment. Having a safe place to spend the winter, in areas removed from human disturbance, allows the young whooping cranes to prepare for the long migration back to their Wisconsin breeding area.

October 2008

Project History

Last updated: April 15, 2009