Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
2005 Annual Report

Summary - Go here for the complete 61 page report (PDF)

We had an excellent year in 2005. While we had our ups and downs we succeeded as a partnership to expand the growing migratory flock by 23 birds – more than a 50% increase to the total population - and that wasn’t the only good news! We also saw the first nests built at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and the Meadow Valley State Wildlife Area this past spring, and to top it off 2 eggs were laid. Unfortunately these first eggs were lost; probably to predators. Newly formed breeding pairs of Whooping cranes need some experience to get it right. We are hopeful there will be a fast learning curve for our new parents and that we will see some chicks this coming spring, a possibility we are all very excited about.

There are currently 7 pairs that have formed. Our field biologists are predicting we could have as many as 12 pairs formed by this spring. The migration behavior has been outstanding for most birds, flying true from the release site at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and other wetlands in central Wisconsin, to the wintering sites in Florida. The few birds that flew off course have generally ended up in the right place. Those that didn’t were captured and moved by our exceptional field teams. A good example is bird 9-03 who strayed off course last spring and ended up in New York. This bird also sojourned in Canada, perhaps to pay tribute to our Canadian partner, Operation Migration.

9-03 was not heard from for much of the summer, but eventually our tracking team found her in North Carolina and returned her to Florida to complete the migration. I saw her at the Florida pen site and I can say she looks very beautiful and is doing fine. Our hope is that this course correction will allow her to migrate north this spring and end up back at the release site in Wisconsin with a better chance of finding a mate.

The Class of 2005 turned out to be very good birds. Hats off to the chick rearing facilities at the International Crane Foundation and the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center for delivering so many healthy birds in 2006. Our Health Team made sure they were in great shape and Operation Migration did their magic to train and lead the birds on their annual migration. We started the migration with 20 birds and ended it with 19 birds. This is a testament to the skills of the pilots and bird handlers of our field teams.

In 2005 we also began an experimental program called “direct autumn release” (DAR). This program involves releasing chicks with older Whooping cranes with migration experience. An additional 5 birds were allocated to this historic release, and project staff from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Crane Foundation worked with the chicks during the spring and summer to prepare them for their unassisted migration in the fall.

Unfortunately, one chick was lost to an early accident, but the 4 remaining DAR birds continued on with the program. These birds began migration in November. Two wintered in Tennessee and two in Florida. We will continue to monitor the DAR birds and evaluate this technique. It is our hope that this supplemental method will allow us to build the growing flock at a faster rate.

Every year has its ups and downs and 2005 was no exception. With a project of this scope it is impossible for everything to go perfectly no matter how hard we try. Five birds were lost due to heath concerns or accidents. In addition, we did have to recapture a few birds that had strayed off the migration route for two consecutive years. Early in the project we want the birds to stay in proximity to each other so there is a better chance of pairs forming. As the flock increases, and natural reproduction occurs, we will be more likely to allow birds to expand their movements into new territory.

Funding was a serious problem in 2005. With the pressures on the U.S. economy and other financial stresses in the world, it was very hard to put the needed funding together. This was felt by all organizations involved in the partnership. Our non-profit partners felt it the most since almost all of their activities require that funding be raised each year from scratch.

At one point, one of our key partners, Operation Migration, had to put out an emergency appeal for support. This was very stressful to all of us as it occurred during the migration. We don’t need our pilots worrying about funding while they focus their tremendous efforts to keep the bird and themselves safe in the air. It is safe to say that all partners are feeling the pinch. Our fund raising partners, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Wisconsin Natural Resources Foundation, came through with contributions and matching funds that really made a difference in keeping the project’s “head above water,” and for this we are very grateful. Many other donors and private individuals also came forward to help us get through the year.

Our overall budget for all partners is in the range of 1.6 million dollars per year. With the current economic stressors we have seen a tendency for some contributors to withdraw support, believing that with the size of the partnership that others will pull up the slack. It’s the “someone else will certainly fix it” syndrome. The bottom line is we need continuing support from all of our partners and supporters each year to be able to accomplish our project goals.

Our project is evolving. Our early efforts were aimed primarily at training birds to follow ultralight aircraft using isolation protocols to retain their wildness, and getting the birds to learn the migration route and return to the release site. We now have proven that this can be done safely with the birds retaining acceptable wildness. The past few years of the project have been focused on refining chick rearing and ultralight training techniques, and increasing the numbers of our migrating flock to form a critical mass.

We are now entering the next stage of the project. The annual ultralight-led migration flights to increase the size of the population are still critically important, but many of our birds have now reached breeding age and we must gear up to assist the new parents in protecting their nests as well as to monitor reproduction. A new round of intense discussions are underway regarding how best to protect the breeding pairs, and to monitor the chicks including banding protocols. We will look to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s experience with their non-migratory flock for advice. After all they were first to hatch a wild chick in Eastern North America----a chick called Lucky.

The direct autumn release project is also a new direction. With our growing flock of experienced birds migrating, it is now time to see if we can train chicks to follow the older birds. We do not see this replacing the ultralight-led migration technique any time soon. This proven technique will remain the primary method of reintroduction as we implement and test the direct autumn release technique over the next 5 years.

Another direction in the evolution of the project is to take a closer look at the genetic makeup of the WCEP flock. Since all Whooping cranes in existence today came from only 15 birds, there is some concern about genetic viability. It is crucial that we do our best to ensure that birds which can best sustain the genetic health of the species are added to the WCEP flock. WCEP has requested the assistance of geneticist Dr. Ken Jones, the flock managers at International Crane Foundation and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, and the Whooping Crane Recovery Team, in developing strategies to maintain and improve the genetic health of the flock. We plan to use an “adaptive” approach that proceeds over a number of years with the goal of increasing the genetic viability of the flock. Birds that will move us in this direction will be paired in captivity, and their progeny released to the WCEP project. It is equally important to maintain significant numbers of birds for release each year to offset the impact of natural mortality, so this will also be taken into account by the Recovery Team in its allocations and genetic management strategies.

Finally, with a significant population building in the flyway, it is important to develop a management plan so that present and future wildlife managers, conservation organizations, and the public, will have the guidance and protocols to keep the growing flock healthy and protected. It is also important to have such guidance in place to ensure compatibility with human activities and to deal with potential conflicts.

The Wisconsin DNR is in the process of developing a management plan for Whooping cranes in that state in full coordination with WCEP, and an opportunity for public review and input is planned. Once completed, the Wisconsin DNR plan can serve as a model for other states, and potentially a flyway-wide framework management plan.

Our WCEP goals remain the same for the present, that is, to achieve a minimum population of 125 birds in the eastern migratory population with 25 breeding pairs. With a current total of 64 birds in the flyway we are half way there in terms of numbers! And we have 7 pair formed with the potential for up to 12 pairs this year! Successful breeding of these pairs with fledged chicks is the next short term goal.

The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has done some preliminary demographic analysis of our population based on our past success. The conclusion is that with the current average mortality rate of 10% loss each year, it will take a total of 10 years of releases of at least 20 birds to reach our population goal. Since we are 5 years into the project this means that if we can maintain our current success, and if there is successful breeding, we could reach our project numeric goals by 2010 or 2011.

Of course, much depends on a number of variables, including unforeseen environmental protection and reproduction issues. The re-establishment of an ongoing self-sustaining population will take careful management and monitoring for many years to come. But the strength of the power of our partnership is based on the optimism, dedication, hard work, and belief that we can overcome challenges and barriers; that we can achieve our goal of seeing this magnificent symbol of the plight of endangered wildlife flying free in Eastern North America — for future generations to enjoy. And we WILL succeed!

Go here for the complete 61 page report (PDF)

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