NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1087556
12 Nebraskaland • March 2019 By Melissa Panella, Wildlife Biologist THREATENED AND ENDANGERED: THE WHOOPING CRANE The whooping crane (Grus americana) is one of the most endangered species in the world. Yet amazingly, you have a chance to see one in Nebraska during their migration every year. In the 1940s, the global population of whooping cranes declined to only around 20 birds. The birds had been an easy target, either for their meat or for collection of their long beautiful feathers to adorn hats and other apparel. Whooping cranes were also losing nesting habitat. Without protections and dedicated efforts to conserve this magnificent bird, the species would have gone extinct. In Nebraska, you are most likely to observe whooping cranes in spring and fall as the population migrates between breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in northeastern Alberta and winter range in and around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along the Gulf Coast of Texas. Whooping cranes in Nebraska most often travel in small family groups of approximately 3-4 individuals, but the highest count on record in our state are the 30 birds that flew over Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in Cherry County in October 2007. On rare occasions, a whooper is found mid- summer in Nebraska. This is typically an immature bird that hasn't quite figured out where to go next. Whooping cranes may live around 30 years in the wild, and mated pairs will stay together for life. Courtship dancing is high-energy jumping, running, wing-flapping, tail-feather shaking, and even stick tossing. Both adult birds build a nest and will incubate two eggs for a little over a month until hatching occurs. The chicks are able to walk and swim within just a few hours of hatching, but they are unable to fly long distances until around three months of age. The youngsters do not venture too far from their parents, who will guide them through migration. Perhaps the most famous bird species in Nebraska is the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) that migrates through the central part of the state, with peak numbers reaching more than 500,000 cranes in mid-March to early April. During this time, crane watchers may find a single whooping crane among the flock of sandhill cranes. This individual hasn't found his way to other rare whooping cranes or is simply perfectly content living among the sandhill cranes. The locals affectionately refer to the lone whooper as Bob. If you have the good fortune of seeing a whooping crane, enjoy the moment and please remember not to disturb it as it needs to save its energy for the marathon of migration. The current population of whooping cranes recently surpassed 500 birds. For more information on whooping cranes in Nebraska, be sure to check out Birds of Nebraska – Online: birds.outdoornebraska.gov. PHOTO BY REJEAN BEDARD IN THE FIELD