Estimated 536 Whooping Cranes Wintered in Texas in 2022-2023

Wintering Whooping Cranes Update
A newly arrived family group on the Aransas Wildlife Refuge Photo by Kevin Sims © 2017

Every year endangered whooping cranes migrate 2,500 miles from their breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding habitats, where they spend the winter. Once they have arrived, wildlife biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) survey the birds by air and analyze population trends.

Preliminary data analysis of aerial surveys of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo whooping crane population conducted in January 2023 indicated 536 whooping cranes, including 88 juveniles, in the primary survey area (approximately 160,125 acres) centered on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The last survey from winter 2021-2022 estimated 543 whooping cranes, indicating the population has remained stable over the last two years.

An additional 14 birds were recorded outside the primary survey area during the survey, based on data from Texas Whooper Watch, eBird reports, iNaturalist reports, a whooping crane GPS tracking study, and aerial surveys conducted in the secondary survey areas. This marks the sixth year that the population has topped the 500 mark, although a survey was not conducted during winter 2020-2021 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Whooping cranes are one of the rarest birds in North America and are highly endangered. Cranes have been documented to live more than 30 years in the wild. Adults generally reach reproductive age at four or five years, and then lay two eggs, usually rearing only one chick.

Due to extensive conservation efforts of federal, state and private landowners, whooping crane populations have increased significantly. When the bird was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1967, only 50 of the birds existed – with 43 wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and seven in captivity. The long-term annual population growth rate for whooping cranes has averaged 4.34 percent.

Biologists plan to conduct the next survey in January 2024.

To view or download the report, visit our website. More information about the survey and whooping cranes can also be found on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge website or by calling the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Contact Station at: 361-349-1181.

This announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior is celebrating the ESA’s importance in preventing imperiled species extinction, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend.

Every year endangered whooping cranes migrate 2,500 miles from their breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding habitats, where they spend the winter. Once they have arrived, wildlife biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) survey the birds by air and analyze population trends.

Preliminary data analysis of aerial surveys of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo whooping crane population conducted in January 2023 indicated 536 whooping cranes, including 88 juveniles, in the primary survey area (approximately 160,125 acres) centered on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The last survey from winter 2021-2022 estimated 543 whooping cranes, indicating the population has remained stable over the last two years.

An additional 14 birds were recorded outside the primary survey area during the survey, based on data from Texas Whooper Watch, eBird reports, iNaturalist reports, a whooping crane GPS tracking study, and aerial surveys conducted in the secondary survey areas. This marks the sixth year that the population has topped the 500 mark, although a survey was not conducted during winter 2020-2021 due to COVID-19 concerns.

Whooping cranes are one of the rarest birds in North America and are highly endangered. Cranes have been documented to live more than 30 years in the wild. Adults generally reach reproductive age at four or five years, and then lay two eggs, usually rearing only one chick.

Due to extensive conservation efforts of federal, state and private landowners, whooping crane populations have increased significantly. When the bird was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1967, only 50 of the birds existed – with 43 wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and seven in captivity. The long-term annual population growth rate for whooping cranes has averaged 4.34 percent.

Biologists plan to conduct the next survey in January 2024.

To view or download the report, visit our website. More information about the survey and whooping cranes can also be found on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge website or by calling the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Contact Station at: 361-349-1181.

This announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior is celebrating the ESA’s importance in preventing imperiled species extinction, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend.

 

***** FOTWW’s mission is to help preserve and protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo
population of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****

Friends of the Wild Whoopers is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

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Deaths of Endangered Whooping Cranes Under Investigation

deaths of endangered whooping cranes
Oklahoma Game Warden Jeremy Brothers approaches the injured whooping crane that later died due to its injuries.

Whooping Crane Deaths Under Investigation

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to investigate the deaths of endangered whooping cranes near Tom Steed Lake in Kiowa County.

One whooping crane was discovered by hunters who notified game wardens with ODWC. The whooping crane subsequently died while being transported to a veterinarian clinic. Additional evidence was recovered at the scene. The USFWS’s Wildlife Forensics Laboratory conducted a necropsy and verified the cause of death as a shotgun wound.

Further investigation of the original crane’s location uncovered evidence of three additional whooping cranes, bringing the total loss to four. All of the deaths are being investigated by ODWC and USFWS law enforcement officers.

“This is sickening to see such a wanton waste of wildlife, and our Game Wardens are very eager to visit with the individual or individuals who committed this crime,” said Wade Farrar, Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement with the Wildlife Department. “Somebody out there knows something that will help in this investigation, and I trust that they will do the right thing and come forward.”

Whooping cranes are an endangered species with a total population of approximately 500 birds in North America. Whooping cranes are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. A conviction for killing a whooping crane can carry up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine per person under the Endangered Species Act, and up to six months in jail and a $15,000 fine under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Reward Offered for Information

Anyone with information regarding the deaths of these whooping cranes is asked to contact the Wildlife Department’s Operation Game Thief at (918) 331-5555 or the USFWS’ Office of Law Enforcement in Fort Worth, Texas, at (817) 334-5202. Callers with information may remain anonymous.

Operation Game Thief, the Oklahoma Game Warden Association, ODWC’s Wildlife Diversity Program and the USFWS are offering cash rewards for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of these endangered cranes.

Whooping cranes travel through Oklahoma during migrations to and from their breeding grounds in Texas. Most whooping crane sightings in Oklahoma are reported from mid-October through November. Whooping crane sightings can be shared with the Wildlife Department online.

***** FOTWW’s mission is to help preserve and protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo
population of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****

Friends of the Wild Whoopers is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

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Pro-con: Should we change the Endangered Species Act?

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed by Congress in 1973 for the purpose to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.

Under the ESA, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. As of January 2013, the FWS has listed  2,054 species worldwide as endangered  or threatened, of which 1,436, including the whooping crane, occur in the United States.

Endangered Species Act
Two whooping cranes attempt to catch a snake in Texas a few months after Hurricane Harvey. Photo by Angela Piazza/Victoria Advocate

Jessica Priest of The Victoria Advocate writes an in depth article about the Pros and Cons of the question “Should we change the Endangered Species Act?”

Republican lawmakers are trying to change the Endangered Species Act because they say it stymies the economy.

One of the bills they’ve filed would allow the federal government to not only consider science but also the economic cost of listing a species as endangered. Others eliminate a way citizens and conservation groups can recoup the cost of suing to trigger the act or go as far as make them repay the government if their lawsuits are unsuccessful.

This year, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., also questioned whether the act was successful. He said about 3 percent of species listed have been de-listed in its 45 years of existence.

Democrats are on the defensive. They say the Republicans’ bills would all but eliminate the act.

“The better analogy is that the (act) is like an emergency doctor who, so far, has saved 99 percent of the patients wheeled into the emergency room,” U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva wrote for Sierra, a magazine published by an environmental activist group by the same name.

Is the ESA overreaching and costly or is it working well as is?

To read “Con: Endangered Species Act works well as is ” click here.

To read “Pro: Let’s rethink overreaching, costly Endangered Species Act” click here.

Is the ESA overreaching and costly or is it working well as is? We’d like to hear your thoughts.

 

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***** FOTWW’s mission is to help preserve and protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo
population of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****
Friends of the Wild Whoopers is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

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Whooping Cranes in the Central Flyway

On December 6, 2017, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) hosted a webinar with the topic being “Whooping Cranes in the Central Flyway — Relevance for Military and Civil Works Projects During Migratory Stopover” Aaron Pearse (USGS) and Wade Harrell (USFWS) were the guest speakers.

The presentation covered recent USGS and USFWS research on Whooping Cranes, the current status of the migratory population in the Central Flyway, and about opportunities civil and military land managers have to support whooping crane habitat in the central flyway.

After some discussion and a few questions and answers, Friends Of The Wild Whoopers’s (FOTWW) President, Chester McConnell, discussed the work that FOTWW has done and continues to do on military installations and U.S Army Corps of Engineers lakes.

The entire webinar, including a Power Point presentation was recorded and can be viewed below. To hear Chester’s talk, you can listen to it beginning at the 1:02:20 mark.

~ Pam Bates – Friends of the Wild Whoopers

***** FOTWW’s mission is to help preserve and protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo
population of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****

Friends of the Wild Whoopers is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

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