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Transmitter Replacement on #20-05, August 17, 2006
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Whooper
Reintroduction Updates
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| Sara and Richard replacing the transmitter. Photo by
Cristin Kelley. |
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| #20-05 is hooded during the transmitter replacement.
Photo by Cristin Kelley. |
Current Trip:
Summer 2006: Monitoring the
Whooping Cranes
Entry August 17
Transmitter Replacement
on #20-05, August 17, 2006
Last Friday morning started early. Cristin Kelley (ICF’s vet
tech),
Tally Love (ICF’s tracking intern) and I gathered in the
parking lot at
the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge at 5 AM and then drove to meet
Richard Urbanek (USFWS). From there, we headed up to Sandhill State
Wildlife Area, north of Necedah. Our plan was to capture #20-05 and put
a new radio transmitter on her. Her current radio had failed
prematurely and was no longer working. Once in the area we could hear a
strong signal from #9-03, #20-05’s companion, but we
couldn’t see the
birds. This always makes me a bit nervous, not knowing exactly what
we’ll find. I also wondered how #20-05 would be to catch. I
had caught
her, along with #9-03, in New York earlier this spring, and it was
easy. However, that was over 3 months ago. After being released at
Necedah on May 5th the 2 birds traveled around central Wisconsin for
several weeks before settling at Sandhill SWA in early June.
Additionally, #9-03 molted and was unable to fly for approximately 6
weeks. During that time these 2 submissive females were chased and
harassed by another pair of whooping cranes occasionally found at
Sandhill SWA. I thought all of these things might make them slightly
more wary, but I was wrong.
After
driving halfway down the dike, we stopped, unloaded our equipment, put
on our costumes, and began walking along the dike. It was a slow walk
since the vegetation was tall and there were lots of holes that
weren’t
visible. I walked like I do in the Chassahowitzka, Florida mud, testing
every step before putting all my weight down. Occasionally, we stopped
to look around, but we couldn’t see the birds. I played the
brood call
from my MP3 player once and got no response--if we couldn’t
see the
birds, I was at least hoping to hear them so we could figure out where
they were. A little further up we stopped and I played the brood call
again. This time we got a response--we were close and the 2 birds
called back. A few more steps and we could see them ahead of us, just
off the dike in the shallow water/mudflat. We found a low spot in the
dike directly across from the birds and put our equipment down. Tally
and Cristin stayed there, hunkered down out of sight, since the birds
can sometimes be intimidated by the presence of too many costumes.
Richard and I walked to the edge of the mudflat and squatted down,
pecking at ears of corn with our puppet heads. After a few threat
displays the birds began to approach us. I had my answer--this was
going to be easy. In a matter of minutes, #20-05 came to me and began
eating the corn I had scattered on the ground. I moved slightly and
positioned myself beside and slightly behind her. With her busy eating,
I was able to inch closer and grab her. Richard quickly put a hood over
her head and we moved to the low spot where we would work.
Unfortunately, #9-03 was more curious than scared, so Tally had to walk
along the dike to keep #9-03 away from us while we worked with our
hoods off.
The old transmitter was cut off and replaced with new
bands and a new radio. Cristin took a blood and fecal sample and
checked her body condition. Richard checked over all the bands and
transmitters one more time, and she was done, ready to be released. We
moved back to the edge of the mudflat where Richard removed the hood
and I set her down. She ruffled and shook then slowly walked away from
us. Tally rejoined us once she saw we had released #20-05. We packed up
and headed out, seeing #9-03 on the way--she’d taken Tally on
a walk
almost back to where we’d started from. It felt like a days
work, all
done by 8 AM.
Number 20-05 was the 4th bird we’ve captured
this spring/summer for transmitter replacement. She was also the 3rd
2005 bird whose radio failed early, necessitating capture and
replacement. The only non 2005 bird we’ve captured so far is
#2-01, a
dominant, aggressive female from the first year of the project. She is
very attracted to the costume, making her easy to catch. The 2005 birds
are young and not long separated from the costume, so all of these
birds were willing to approach the costume closely enough that they
could simply be caught by hand.
We’re glad to have working
transmitters back on all of these birds, but there’s more
work ahead of
us. These were the easy captures, we have 6 more birds with dead
transmitters and none of them will be as easy to catch as the first
four. The remaining birds are older, further removed from the costume
and therefore more wary. We will have to set up the trap and bait the
birds to it before we can catch them, and this takes time.
We’ve had an
excellent record of having working radio transmitters on almost every
bird in the population for the past 2 fall migrations, but with more
and more birds, that will become more of a challenge. There are a
number of birds whose transmitters could quit at any moment. So, while
there are 6 birds on the list right now, there will probably be more
before fall migration starts, keeping us busy for the rest of the
summer and fall.
Update by Sara Zimorski, ICF Aviculturist.
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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