I have just returned from a wonderful trip to see and photograph one of my favorite endangered species—the whooping crane. I’ve been following the story of the reintroduction of the Whooping Crane for about five years now and for the past couple of years I’ve been making the trek to see the birds and learn more about them in person. This year a small group of 13 enthusiastic birders joined me on my annual trip to central Wisconsin to see how this year’s young cranes were doing and how the preparation for their migration south to Florida was going. If you are not familiar with the Whooping Crane here is a little background.
Once thought to number over 1,400 in the mid 1800’s the Whooping Crane dropped to an all time low of only 15 individual birds by 1941. This was due to loss of habitat, hunting and lack of environmental laws and education. As a result, the Whooping Crane was declared an endangered species in 1971 and several attempts were made to help recover the species.
The first recovery project stated in 1975 and involved having Sandhill Cranes foster parent Whooping Cranes. The problem was the new Whooper’s didn’t mate with other Whooping Cranes and the project was scrapped in 1989. The second try at bringing the Whooping Crane occurred in 1993 by establishing a non-migratory flock near Kissimmee Florida. However the birds haven’t thrived and now the population is actually decreased so this plan was scrapped.
The third and current program to reestablish Whooping Cranes stated in the fall of 2001. The decision was made to establish an eastern migratory flock. A flock that would migrate from the upper mid-west to Florida. Every year since 2001 about 15 to 20 young cranes are added to the flock. So far, to date, there are 69 Whooping Cranes in the eastern migratory flock. All of these birds are the result of the introductory efforts.
This is how the process goes. Eggs are hatched and reared by costumed humans that look like adult Whooping Cranes. On the costumed human’s hand is a head and beak that looks like an adult crane. The costumes take advantage of the natural instinct in the young cranes known as “imprinting”. The first thing the young cranes see when they hatch is the costumed humans and think they are their parents.
Once the chicks are large enough they are gradually introduced to the loud engines of the ultra light aircrafts. Eventually they will fly along with the ultra lights which are piloted by the costumed pilots so conditioning them to the sights and sounds of the aircraft is very important.
What is really interesting is, they only need to show the young cranes the route to Florida, not back. The young return in spring to Wisconsin on their own.
This past summer 11 pair of adult Whooping Cranes attempted to nest but none were successful. No one seems to know why there were no successful hatchings but you can be sure they are looking into the cause of this major hurdle.
This year there are 14 young Whooping Cranes that will make the trip flying behind the ultra lights. Depending up the weather, the young cranes and their costumed human parents/pilots will be departing from central Wisconsin and heading south around the 17th of October. I wish them well and a safe journey. I will be following their progress.
I have a deep respect for the staff and pilots who have dedicated their lives to returning this magnificent endangered bird back to the wild. It is their hard work and dedication that will serve to benefit us all by bringing back the most endangered crane species in North America.
You can follow the progress of the young birds and their flight south by visiting www.operationmigration.org.