Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership

WHOOPING CRANE
EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

Non-profit organizations, individuals and government agencies joining forces to bring a migratory population of whooping cranes back to eastern North America

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Ultralight-led Whooping Cranes will head to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge

February 3, 2012 - - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release

Nine juvenile whooping cranes on their first ultralight-led migration south will now be taken to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alabama in the next few days.

The nine whooping cranes will be loaded up in travel enclosures onto vehicles as soon as possible, driven about 70 miles from Winston County, Ala., to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. They will be placed in a secure pen, equipped with identification bands and tracking transmitters, then later released in the company of other whooping cranes that have been wintering there.

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FAA Grants Waiver Allowing Ultralight-led Migration to Continue

January 10, 2012 - - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release

The ultralight-led migration of nine whooping cranes, on hold in Franklin County, Alabama, pending FAA clearance, has been given the green light.

peration Migration, a member of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, is now mobilizing resources to continue guiding the young cranes to their wintering sites at St. Marks National and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuges in Florida.

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Reward Fund Started for Indiana Whooping Crane Case

January 9, 2012 - - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release

Wildlife law enforcement agents with the Indiana DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the most recent shooting in which a whooping crane – known as “Bird 605” – found dead on Dec. 30, 2011 in southeastern Jackson County near Crothersville, Ind.

Indiana’s Turn In a Poacher program has established a special reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the killing of a federally endangered whooping crane. TIP launched the Whooping Crane Fund with a $2,500 commitment, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service immediately matched it with a $2,500 donation. The Humane Society of the United States and its Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust also added $2,500.

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Ultra-light-led Migration of Whooping Cranes on Hold in Alabama

January 5, 2012

The 2011-2012 ultra-light led migration of whooping cranes in the eastern population is currently on hold in Alabama.

The Service's partner manageing this portion of the effort, Operation Migration, is cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resolve regulatory issues about the flight. The group has applied for a waiver to exempt them from the FAA regulation that prohibits compensating pilots of this category of aircraft. This waiver, if approved, would allow the flight to continue.

2011 WCEP PSA

October 4, 2011

Download PSA as .flv

Download PSA as .wmv

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Young Whooping Cranes Will Learn Migration Route from their Elders

September 22, 2011

Eight Whooping Crane chicks, hatched and raised by costumed biologists at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wis., arrived Tuesday at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Dodge County, Wis. The cranes are part of the Direct Autumn Release (DAR) project conducted by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), an international coalition of public and private organizations that is reintroducing this highly imperiled species in eastern North America, part of its historic range.

May 27, 2011 Nesting Update

There is one active whooping crane nest on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. That pair began a renest effort on or about May 18. Necedah staff are making visual observations of other pairs to determine if any new or renest efforts are initiated.

One pair’s (22-07/12-05) renest attempt failed. The nest was last known to be active on May 22. A tornado passed through the area in the evening of May 22 and the nest was observed abandoned on May 23. An egg salvage operation produced no eggs as the nest was empty (no eggs or egg shell fragments).

Two whooping crane chicks are alive as of this writing. The pairs with chicks are: 9-05/13-03 and 2-04/46-07. One chick is presumed dead since the last update was provided. The chick belonged to the pair 17-03/3-03. This chick was last seen on May 22. A tornado past directly over the pair’s nesting territory in the evening on May 22. A search of the chick’s last known location was conducted on May 23 and no sign of the chick was found. The surviving chicks are being monitored following the methods outlined in the Necedah NWR’s Chick Monitoring Plan, which was peer-reviewed and implemented in 2010.

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May 19, 2011 Nesting Update

There is one active whooping crane nest on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. That pair (22-07/12-05) began a renest effort on or about May 18. Necedah staff are making visual observations of other pairs to determine if any new or renest efforts are initiated.

One whooping crane chick hatched since the last updated was provided. That chick came from the pair 2-04/46-07 and hatched on or about May 16. Two other chicks are alive as of this writing. Those pairs with chicks are: 9-05/13-03 and 17-03/3-03. The chicks are being monitored following the methods outlined in the Necedah NWR’s Chick Monitoring Plan, which was peer-reviewed and implemented in 2010.

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Nesting News - May 12, 2011

Adult whooping crane pair and two chicks from 2006.

Photo by USFWS; Richard Urbanek

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) are celebrating another success in efforts to reintroduce a wild migratory whooping crane population in eastern North America.

Three whooping crane chicks hatched this week at Necedah NWR in central Wisconsin. The first chick to hatch this season was the offspring of wild whooping crane W1-06. W1-06 was hatched and raised in 2006 on Necedah NWR and is the first wild offspring from the eastern whooping crane reintroduction project started more than a decade ago.

Read More>> (links to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release)

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Nesting News May 6, 2011

Nesting – There are currently at least 11 active whooping crane nests. All of the active nests except two are being monitored via DVR or camera. Among the active nests are pairs with young birds (2 years old) that may not be able to produce an egg. Other pairs have been reported building nests. These pairs may also produce an egg or eggs depending on the age of the male or female.

Failed Nests – Seven whooping crane nests failed since the last update was written. This brings the 2011 total of failed nests to 10.

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Citizen Tip Leads to Closure of Whooping Crane Shooting in Indiana

Two whooping cranes about to take flight.

Closure comes in the case of matriarch whooping crane shooting because of a citizen tip. Wade Bennett of Cayuga, Ind. pled guilty and was sentenced on March 30, 2011, for his involvement in the shooting of a whooping crane in Vermillion County, Ind. Bennett and a juvenile were charged and sentenced in Indiana State Court, in Vermillion County, Ind. Bennett and the juvenile received probation, fines and fees for their involvement in the shooting of the crane. Voluntary information from a local citizen was instrumental in closing this case.

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge

Nesting News

April 15, 2011

There are currently seven confirmed Whooping Crane nests on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge! The nests are being monitored via video by refuge staff. Below is a list of the nesting pairs on the refuge. Stay tuned for further nesting updates.