Chassahowitzka NWR Pensite, February 16, 2007
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Whooper
Reintroduction Updates
Current Trip:
Winter 2007: Monitoring the
Whooping Cranes
Entry February 16
Chassahowitzka NWR
Pensite, February 16, 2007
Thank you to all our supporters, friends and colleagues who have sent
letters, emails and phone calls of support regarding the loss of the
whooping cranes in Florida. Some people have asked about the winter
pensite at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge--located on
Florida’s gulf coast, the refuge is over 31,000 acres of salt
water
bays, estuaries and brackish marshes with a fringe of hardwood swamps
along one boundary.
The
whooping cranes are located in four acres of fenced-in salt marsh. The
fencing includes three levels of electric fencing to protect the birds
from predators. The primary threat for whooping cranes in this area is
bobcats. Within this fenced-in area is a covered food shelter, where
the cranes have access to a pelletized food source. There is an oyster
bar within this enclosure which serves as the birds’ roost.
This four
acre enclosure is not top-netted and the birds can fly in and out
during the day. This arrangement allows the cranes to forage within as
well as outside the pen. At night, the birds are returned to the open
pen, through active staff intervention if needed, to roost on the
oyster bar within the enclosure for protection from predators.
Connected
to this four acre enclosure is a smaller pen with flight netting over
the top. This smaller pen also includes three levels of
predator-proofing electric fencing. This smaller pen is used to house
the juvenile whooping cranes when older whooping cranes, from previous
years’ releases, are present at the pensite. If the juvenile
cranes are
not housed in the smaller pen while the older birds are present, the
older birds are often aggressive to the younger ones, keeping them from
the feeders and occasionally attacking them. This aggression has forced
younger birds out of the safety of the pen making them vulnerable to
bobcat predation.
The older whooping cranes will only stay at
the pensite as long as they have access to the feeders. When these
older cranes show up, we remove the feeders from the larger pen and
place them under the top-netted pen. The juveniles are housed in this
top-netted pen with access to the food until the older cranes disperse
inland where foraging is easier.
The Chassahowitzka NWR pensite
is located approximately five miles from the mainland and accessible
only by airboat. This remote location is in an area of the refuge
closed to the public to maintain the strict isolation-rearing protocol,
adhered to on this project so the birds will not become accustomed to
people and will remain wild.
To ensure the birds don’t become
too accustomed to the costumed personnel, we strictly limit our contact
with the birds. These precautions are essential to the success of the
release; during this winter period, the birds are gradually
transitioning to life in the wild. Project staff travel roundtrip via
airboat twice a day out to the pensite area. To keep the birds from
seeing or hearing the airboat, personnel dock the airboat and then walk
in to the actual pensite. It is a challenging hike-- navigating a
narrow planked walkway around deep mud and water holes. The staff
monitors the birds from a blind, observing behavior and overall health
of the birds. The costumed personnel refill the feeders, if needed,
check for signs of predators, and ensure the electric fencing is
working properly.
Project staff went out to the pensite for
the daily pre-dusk roost check on February 1. Since there were older
whooping cranes present, the juveniles remained in the top-netted
enclosure. Rain and thunderstorms were forecast for that evening, but
the level of intensity that actually occurred was not predicted. The
storm was the second-deadliest combination of thunderstorms and
tornados in Florida history, killing 20 people and causing millions of
dollars in property damage. In the six years of this project, the
cranes have weathered many thunderstorms in their top-netted pens--at
Necedah NWR, while on migration and at the Chassahowitzka NWR pensite.
The severity of the storms that occurred that evening were not expected
or predicted. The storm reached peak intensity after midnight, and the
birds were discovered dead during the routine check the next day.
WCEP
is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the freak storm to determine
if we need any changes in our procedures and protocols for the
protection of the wintering birds in future years to minimize the
chance of any future catastrophic loss.
We are all devastated
over the loss of the 17 juvenile cranes. It was a tragic and
unfortunate event. While this is a setback for the whooping crane
reintroduction project, WCEP has faced challenges in the past and we
plan to move forward with our effort to return this highly imperiled
species to its historic range in eastern North America.
Breeding
season is just now starting up in the captive centers and we are
looking forward to the production, training, migration and release of
another group of whooping cranes in 2007. We will move forward and
rebuild the flock with your support.
Update by Joan Garland, ICF Acting Director of Education.
This email is generated by the International Crane Foundation located
at E11376 Shady Lane Road, Baraboo, WI. 53913. Visit our website
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