Crane Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
migration is in full swing with recent sightings reported
to Texas. As of April 30th, 11 whooping cranes
are known to still be at Aransas. One was on Matagorda Island
and ten were seen from the whooping crane tour boat in
two groups of
of the cranes in the group of 4 were observed "dancing."
This behavior is part of the well-known and very unique
breeding behavior of cranes that occurs daily in the spring,
mostly while the birds are in migration. This dancing is
an essential ritual that gets the female prepared for laying
eggs shortly after she arrives on the nesting grounds.
Photo Brian Bailey
in the group of 4 was the crane we have named "Scarbaby" and
his mate. This crane can be identified by a distinctive
mark on the back of its head where it was apparently hit
and almost died when it was about 10 months old. Scarbaby
failed to migrate for two summers in a row. He made his
first trip to Canada as a 3-year-old
and returned the
following fall with a mate. I am disappointed that Scarbaby
his mate are still at Aransas, since that means they will
not nest this year. It is very late for adult birds
to still be at Aransas. There would not be enough time
nest, and raise a chick before the cold weather hits in
the fall. All adult birds have always left Aransas no
later than April 21st if they are going to nest.
Winds: Good to Go
For the past two days, the wind has blown strong
from the southeast, providing ideal conditions for migration.
I expect most of the remaining birds to start the migration
in the next 10 days or so, as the windy weather is forecast
An Injury in South Dakota?
cranes are currently at the LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge
in South Dakota where they have been for at least
5 days. They are leaving the refuge and flying about
5 times a day to a nearby house where corn has been put
out to feed
pheasants. The people living in the house have noticed
that the smaller of the two cranes (the female) is
flies with one leg "hanging down," meaning
it is not held straight in line with the body in flight.
cranes have long, thin legs that are subject to injury.
They can injure a leg colliding with a power line, which
they do not see in time to avoid. They can break a leg,
or dislocate the leg where it connects to the hip. Sometimes
these issues resolve themselves and the bird gets better — so
let's hope for the best. In the meantime, the injured
crane is feeding well on the corn being provided.
I'm guessing that the two cranes are delaying further
stock up on food and allow time for the injured female
to get better.
National Wildlife Refuge
Migration conditions have been mixed; one
day the winds will be out of the south and the next
they are out of the north. Temperatures have been variable
Strong winds and snow fell on Monday in southern Saskatchewan,
which would have temporarily slowed down migration.
scattered throughout Saskatchewan, including some in the
part of the province where the agricultural lands end and
the land all becomes forest as you head north. (The
cranes can remain in the agricultural lands feeding on winter
wheat for a few days or as long as a week to gain some
energy before making the final push to the nesting grounds.) Thus,
some of the whooping cranes (the
Leoville and Dorintosh locations: see Journey North map) are
as far north as they can get in Saskatchewan before they make
the final 2-day
flight up to the nesting grounds, so those birds should
be on their territories in Wood Buffalo National Park by
the time you read this!
Saskatoon, SK and
Buffalo National Park