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Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

August 2010 Project Update

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Population Status

As of late August 2010 there are approximately 96 birds in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of whooping cranes, consisting of 52 males, 42 females and two wild-hatched chicks (see below). Most birds are located across 7 counties in Wisconsin, with approximately 38 birds at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Single birds spent the summer in Indiana and Michigan, and two males were last reported in North Dakota in late May. Six other birds have not been located since spring. Recent locations of EMP whooping cranes are shown in the map below.

Nesting Status

At least nine breeding pairs of whooping cranes attempted nesting this year, with all nests except two located on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. A total of seven chicks hatched in the nests of five pairs, and two chicks remain alive as of August 29. Just over the past two days it has been confirmed that both chicks have now fledged.

Captive-reared Cohort

The 2010 ultralight cohort of whooping cranes consists of 13 birds training at two pen sites on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. The tentative date for departure from Wisconsin is October 1. The direct autumn release (DAR) cohort consists of 11 young whooping cranes being reared at one pen site on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. The target date for release of DAR birds with older cranes is late October.

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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