Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

2009 Nesting Update

May 2009 Nesting Status

As of our previous update on April 15, eight pairs were incubating eggs on nests in and around the Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. Ultimately, at least 12 breeding pairs of Wisconsin whooping cranes established territories, built nests and laid eggs. Nearly all of these nests were located on the Necedah NWR, with one additional nest found on private land off the Refuge. As of May 1, eleven of the 12 pairs have abandoned their nests, with one pair still incubating. WCEP biologists managed to salvage a total of 7 eggs from these nests, only a portion of which were fertile.

This nest abandonment pattern is similar to what has been observed in the past few years. WCEP is investigating the cause of the nest abandonments through analysis of data collected throughout the nesting period on nesting crane behavior, temperature, black fly abundance and distribution, and food availability.

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 our previous project updates and additional information on the project visit our web site at http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/.

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Last updated: May 4, 2009