The 18 most-wanted birds in North America
Whooping Crane
1. Although we think of Whooping Cranes today as birds of marshes, historically they were found on North American grasslands. 2. Their breeding range extended from central Illinois and Iowa into Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. 3. An isolated breeding population also existed in southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas, and it likely wasn’t the only one. Prior to the 1860s, birds were reported near the western shore of Hudson Bay, on the Bear River in Idaho, and near Ocean City, New Jersey. 4. In winter, Whoopers occupied two regions: the intermountain grasslands of central Mexico and the Gulf Coast from northeastern Mexico to Alabama. 5. Despite its vast range, the crane’s total population in the mid-1800s is believed to have been no more than 1,300-1,400 birds. 6. Within a century, settlers plowed and drained the bird’s habitat and shot more than 250 cranes. By 1941, only 16 birds returned to winter on the Texas coast. 7. Scientists have known the crane’s migration route since 1954, when the Canadian breeding grounds were discovered. In the last couple years, a tracking project using solar-powered GPS transmitters has revealed details about timing, stopover sites, and migratory behavior. The ongoing study aims to inform conservation decisions along the migratory corridor. 8. For more than 60 years, the flock wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was counted in an annual census, which, over time, showed steady growth; by the winter of 2010-11, the census tallied a record 282 Whoopers. 9. The following year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service switched to a survey method known as distance sampling; rather than counting every bird, it aims to count most cranes and produces an approximate total. In 2012-13, officials estimated the Texas population at 273 cranes, but the number may have been as low as 250 or as high as 301. 10. In the two years since 282 cranes were counted, the population may have risen by almost 7 percent or it may have dropped by 3 percent or an astonishing 11 percent. “This degree of uncertainty is simply unacceptable and useless for recovery management purposes,” says Tom Stehn, retired Whooping Crane coordinator of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
1. Although we think of Whooping Cranes today as birds of marshes, historically they were found on North American grasslands. 2. Their breeding range extended from central Illinois and Iowa into Minnesota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. 3. An isolated breeding population also existed in southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas, and it likely wasn’t the only one. Prior to the 1860s, birds were reported near the western shore of Hudson Bay, on the Bear River in Idaho, and near Ocean City, New Jersey. 4. In winter, Whoopers occupied two regions: the intermountain grasslands of central Mexico and the Gulf Coast from northeastern Mexico to Alabama. 5. Despite its vast range, the crane’s total population in the mid-1800s is believed to have been no more than 1,300-1,400 birds. 6. Within a century, settlers plowed and drained the bird’s habitat and shot more than 250 cranes. By 1941, only 16 birds returned to winter on the Texas coast. 7. Scientists have known the crane’s migration route since 1954, when the Canadian breeding grounds were discovered. In the last couple years, a tracking project using solar-powered GPS transmitters has revealed details about timing, stopover sites, and migratory behavior. The ongoing study aims to inform conservation decisions along the migratory corridor. 8. For more than 60 years, the flock wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was counted in an annual census, which, over time, showed steady growth; by the winter of 2010-11, the census tallied a record 282 Whoopers. 9. The following year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service switched to a survey method known as distance sampling; rather than counting every bird, it aims to count most cranes and produces an approximate total. In 2012-13, officials estimated the Texas population at 273 cranes, but the number may have been as low as 250 or as high as 301. 10. In the two years since 282 cranes were counted, the population may have risen by almost 7 percent or it may have dropped by 3 percent or an astonishing 11 percent. “This degree of uncertainty is simply unacceptable and useless for recovery management purposes,” says Tom Stehn, retired Whooping Crane coordinator of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
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11 June 2022
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