Whooping cranes to finish migration by road

Cranes refuse to fly further south

February 2012: 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 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.

‘We are fortunate to be in a position to help by standing in for our sister refuges at Chassahowitzka and St. Marks in Florida,' said Dwight Cooley, from Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge. ‘While we hope they will visit us again in coming winters, where they eventually winter is not nearly as important as their survival, and the hope they will complete many more migrations in years to come. Their continued safety is our highest concern.'

A winter home to 11,000 sandhill cranesHe went on to say the refuge hosted more than 11,000 sandhill cranes at the refuge this winter, as well as seven whooping cranes.

The original plan was to have the Operation Migration pilots use ultralight aircraft to guide the birds further south to St Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida - their originally planned wintering sites. The migration had been sidelined for over a month by an issue involving FAA flying policies, reported by Wildlife Extra last month.

FAA granted a waiver for the flight but the cranes apparently decided Alabama was far enough, refusing to follow the ultralights. The cranes had been imprinted to follow the pilots of the ultralights who are dressed in whooping crane costumes. The warm winter may also have had an impact on the cranes refusal to fly further south.

The nine whooping cranes are part of an effort to establish an Eastern Migratory population for one of the most endangered birds in the world. Cranes have been taught variations of the eastern migratory route for the past decade. There are now about 104 cranes in the eastern population. One crane that had dropped out of the migration in the first few days ended up joining migrating sandhill cranes, ultimately wintering in Florida.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/whooping-crane022012.html

American Sandhill crane st RSPB Strathbeg

From America to Aberdeenshire, re-routed rare crane arrives at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg September 2011. It may be playing host to thousands of wintering geese but it is a rare American arrival that is attracting attention at an RSPB Scotland nature reserve in Aberdeenshire. An adult sandhill crane, only the fourth ever to be recorded in Britain, has been spotted at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg.

The species normally breeds in North America and Canada, migrating south in the Autumn months. Staff believe this bird may have been blown off course by Hurricane Katia.

Diana Spencer, Visitor and Publicity Officer at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg said: "We've had a few ‘lost' American birds on the reserve recently, but we've never had one as large as this. It's quite unmistakable, similar in size to a heron with a bright red forehead, and long dark pointed bill. Despite having 12,000 geese on the reserve, all eyes, binoculars and telescopes have been on this new arrival. We're expecting it'll attract a lot of interest over the weekend from birders across the country."

Staff are also keen to hear from a visitor who reported a crane on the reserve on Saturday. It was presumed at the time this was a common crane but it's now thought this may have been the first sighting of the new arrival.

Birds like the Sandhill crane, which turn up miles from where they are supposed to be, are called vagrants. There is no way of knowing where this bird will go next. It has been seen preening itself, which suggests it is moulting. It is therefore likely it will remain at Loch of Strathbeg until it is in perfect condition to continue travelling south.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/strathbeg-sandhill.html