Fall Migration Underway
Friends of the Wild Whoopers, (FOTWW) has received several reports and photographs of Whooping Cranes staging in Saskatchewan, Canada. On October 5th, a Whooping Crane was spotted and photographed at Quivira NWR, in Kansas. It can be said that the fall migration of the only natural wild population of whooping cranes is underway. The flock is expected to migrate through Nebraska, North Dakota and other states along the Central Flyway over the next several weeks. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department and other state Fish and Game agencies along the flyway encourage the public to report any whooping crane sightings.
Nebraska reports
If you see a whooping crane in Nebraska, please report your whooping crane sighting to Nebraska Game and Parks (402-471-0641), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (308-379-5562), or The Crane Trust’s Whooper Watch hotline (888-399-2824). Emails may be submitted to joel.jorgensen@nebraska.gov.
North Dakota reports
If you see a whooping crane in North Dakota, please report your whooping crane sighting to, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices at Lostwood, (701) 848-2466, or Long Lake, (701) 387-4397, national wildlife refuges; the state Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, (701) 328-6300, or to local game wardens across the state.
Oklahoma reports
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is asking for your help in logging the migration path of the cranes. Sightings can be logged online here or by calling Endangered species biologist Matt Fullerton at 580-571-5820 or wildlife diversity biologist Mark Howery at 405-990-7259.
Texas report
Texas Whooper Watch also has a project in I-Naturalist that is now fully functional. You can find it here. You can report sightings directly in I-Naturalist via your Smart Phone. This allows you to easily provide photo verification and your location. If you are not a smart phone app user, you can still report via email: whoopingcranes@tpwd.state.tx.us or phone: (512) 389-TXWW (8999). Please note that our primary interest is in reports from outside the core wintering range.
Keep your distance and why reporting is important
Should you see a whooping crane, please do not get close or disturb it. Keep your distance and make a note of date, time, location, and what the whooping crane is doing. If the whooping crane is wearing bands or a transmitter, please note the color(s) and what leg(s) the bands are on.
You may wonder why the wild life agencies are asking for these sightings to be reported. The reports are very helpful in gathering data and information on when and where the whooping cranes stopover, what type of habitat they are choosing, and how many there are.
With just over 500 wild whooping cranes migrating along the Central Flyway, odds are low of seeing a wild whooping crane. However, FOTWW hopes that someone reading this article will be one of the lucky few and if you are, please report your sighting so that these agencies and other conservation groups, including FOTWW can continue helping these magnificent cranes.
***** 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.
