Unusual Sighting

A few years back I took a trip out to the Necedah NWR in central Wisconsin. I began to travel to Necedah the year before because it is known for being one of the best places in the world to photograph endangered Karner Blue butterflies. On this particular trip it was early October, which is a bit late in the season for Karners, but I had a free weekend day and wanted to go photograph some place that I had not photographed so often. The day was going well, photographing primarily red-headed woodpeckers, when as I was walking along a dirt road I spotted a pair of large white birds flying my way. As the got closer I was excited to see that it was a pair of whooping cranes.

The whooping crane is one of the largest birds in North America and it is highly endangered. They stand about 5 feet tall and have over a seven foot wingspan. Because of habitat loss and unregulated hunting the population of the whooping crane dropped to just 15 birds by 1941. They were added to the endangered species list in 1967.  Since this time their population has been increased slowly to about 400 - 500 birds today. 

Most of the cranes, around 300 or so, are a part of a flock that breeds in Wood Buffalo Park in Canada and winters in Aransas National Wildlife refuge in Texas. This flock are the decedents of the remaining 15. However there is concern about the population since they breed and winter together in the same location. A disease, natural disaster, or man made disaster could easily wipe out the entire flock in one shot. In order to avoid potential disaster the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership began to release birds into central Wisconsin. Young birds where then trained to fly to wintering grounds in Florida using ultra light aircraft. This project was based out of Necedah NWR. These birds are a part of the eastern flock, easy to tell because of the tracking bracelet on one of the legs, which now numbers over 100.      

Whooping it up

Endangered Whooping Crane

Whoopers

 The whooping crane is one of the tallest bird species in North America. They are also one of the most endangered bird species in the world. Because of loss of habitat and excessive hunting there were only 23 whooping cranes left on the planet in early 1940's. Sixteen of the birds belonged to a flock that migrated between the Buffalo National Park in Canada, where they breed, and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, where they spend the winter. The other six birds belonged to a non-migratory population in Louisiana. By the 1950s the whoopers were gone from Louisiana leaving only the Aransas -Buffalo flock.    

By the 1940's the whooping crane was protected from hunting by the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929. In 1966 the Endangered Species Preservation Act was passed by Congress which was replaced by the Endangered Species Act in 1973. The whooping crane was included in both lists which helped in saving some of the remaining critical habitat that these birds required. Because of these new laws and other conservation efforts the Aransas-Buffalo flock had over 100 birds by 1986 and today they are up to 278, as of 2010-2011. A small flock of non-migratory birds has also returned to Louisiana, about 24 birds, and there is a small flock of about 20 non-migratory birds in Florida. There is also a group out of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin that is working to build a second migratory flock, just in case some disaster where to kill off the Aransas-Buffalo flock. They use an ultra-light airplane to lead the cranes between Wisconsin and Florida each year. The cranes pictured above are part of the Necedah flock. The top photo was taken in Northfield, MN where a pair stopped to rest and feed. The second photo was taken at Necedah where a pair flew in right above me as I was visiting the park one fall. The Necedah population consisted of 115 birds as of 2010-2011.All the crane population numbers come from the International Crane Foundation.   

h

Endangered Whooping Cranes

For the second time this year we have had some very special visitors in the area in which I live. A pair of endangered whooping cranes has been spotted down near Northfield, MN for the past week. I had made a couple of trips earlier this week after getting off of work but I was not able to locate the birds. So I took a half day off today and spent some time looking around and the third time was the charm. I found the pair of whoopers foraging for food in a field just a few blocks south west of where they had been seen earlier. They were accompanied by a pair of sandhill cranes. It was interesting to see the two species side by side. These were greater sandhill cranes so they are just under four feet tall but since the whooper is the tallest bird in North America they were about a half a foot taller.
Whooping cranes are on the endangered species list. There is one naturally migrating flock of whoopers left in the world. They nest up in Canada and winter down on the Gulf Coast of Texas. In 1940 the population of this flock fell to a low of only 22 birds. Through conservation of the birds and vital habitat their numbers have increased about 4% per year until they numbered about 281 in 2010. Conservationist are worried however that if a disease or a disaster of some sort could were to hit the flock it could destroy the entire population. So in 1975 several whooper eggs from the Canada flock where transferred into the nests of sandhill cranes in Idaho. Unfortunately when the birds matured they mated with sandhill cranes instead of other whoopers. In 1999 a new group called the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership formed with the purpose of building a secondary whooper population that would breed in Wisconsin and migrate down to Florida for the winter. You can tell that these birds are a part of that population by the bands on their legs, see the first picture. They also have a tracking device attached to their legs.

Good News for Whoopers

Its been over fifty years since a whooping crane was last seen in the state of Louisiana but now the US Fish and Wildlife Service has published a regulation that will facilitate the reintroduction of the species back to areas that were once its native habitat in that state.

The plan is to release and manage a flock of non-migrating whooping cranes at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. Part of the conservation area was once the Vermillion Parish property which was the last known location of Louisiana whooping cranes back in 1950. The project is a cooperative effort between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, and the Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

The whooping crane is the most endangered crane in the world. There are currently approximately 400 whoopers in the wild. The majority of these comprise the only self-sustaining population in wild which migrate between Buffalo National Park in Canada and Aransas NWR in Texas. It is dangerous to have the entire whooping crane population in one flock, disease or natural disaster could wipe out the entire species, so multiple efforts are in progress to reduce the risk by providing new whooper flocks. These include a flock which migrates, with help from ultralite aircraft, between Necedah, NWR in Wisconsin and Chassahowitzka NWR and St. Marks NWR in Florida and now the non-migrating population efforts in Louisiana. The new Louisiana flock will be given the designation non-essential , experimental population which will give the organizations managing them more leeway, since they are in the endangered species list.

-

The cranes above are part of the eastern flock and they were photographed in Wisconsin.

-

For more information check out the news release from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Congrats Wisconsin

Last nights Super Bowl was a great game. I was very happy that our neighbors to the east came up victorious. To honor their victory I decided to feature one of my favorite Wisconsin refuges in today's post.
Necedah NWR is located in central Wisconsin. It is about an hour west of Madison, Wisconsin and about 3 hours south east of the Twin Cities, where I live. Our first trip to Necedah was back in 2007. I had been doing some reading about butterflies and found that Necedah was a good place to see the endangered Karner blue. Unfortunately by the time we made arrangements to go there, Michelle accompanied me on this trip, it was October which is a bit late for the Karner blues. We did fall in love with, and photograph the numerous red-headed woodpeckers living in the refuge. The head on this immature bird was just beginning to turn red.

In 2008 we decided to go back to Necedah but this time in June. We were able to photograph our first Karner blues on that trip but we did not see as many red-headed woodpeckers as we did in the fall of 2007. So I decided to head back, this time on my own, at the beginning of October. On the second trip not only did I get my red-head fix but I also was astounded when a pair of endangered whooping cranes flew directly over head.

In 2009 I made two trips back out to Necedah, one with Michelle and one on my own. This eastern tiger swallowtail was very cooperative that June, posing for many pictures on brightly colored flowers. On the June trip we also spotted a porcupine as it crossed the road, which was very exciting.

In 2010 I repeated my now traditional two trips, this year both of them on my own. I added several new species to my Necedah list including several new dragonflies and a bobolink. I also photographed my favorites including the red-headed woodpeckers and the Karner blue butterfly, as seen above.

Road Trip Necedah

Last week Michelle and I made a pretty big change. We decided to take my truck in and buy a new car. This is kind of a big deal because I have been driving trucks for twenty some years and not owned a car, other then Michelle's cars, since my first vehicle, but I decided it was time to do more to help the environment and my truck was only getting 15 MPG so it was time to trade it in for something a bit more fuel efficient.

So I bought myself a Honda Insight hybrid. For day to day I do not drive all that much, between 30 to 40 miles to work and back, but since I like to go out to photograph nature in a variety of different habitats I do put on a few miles doing road trips. So this weekend I took the new car on its first road trip to Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. Everything went perfect, the weather was nice, there was a good amount of wildlife to photograph, and the new car, pictured next to the Necedah sign above, worked great. The trip was 384.4 miles round trip and I used 9.1 gallons of gas, which means that I got over 42 MPG.

Since this is a nature blog and not a car blog I also took some pictures of wildlife while I was there. I was excited to see a pair of endangered whooping cranes out in the field in front of the observation tower, unfortunately they were too far away to get any good pics.

I did get some better pics of the red headed woodpeckers. They are quite common in Necedah. This is probably due to all of the dead wood that the staff leaves in the refuge. Red headed woodpeckers thrive in habitats where there is a lot of dead wood around. They use cracks and crevices in the dead wood to cache their food, this would include seeds, nuts, and even live insects.

Eastern kingbirds are also pretty common in Necedah. They can usually be found hunting for flying insects in the open fields.

Gray catbirds are usually more secretive. You are much more likely to hear one then you are to see one as they typically stay in shrubs or brush piles repeating their distinctive call.

Necedah is also a great place to photograph butterflies. It is one of the best places in the world to find the endangered Karner blue butterfly. The Karner is a sub species of the Melissa blue that is found mostly in the Great Lakes region. The Karner blue caterpillar is very particular and will only eat the lupine plant. As the amount of lupine decreases, due to habitat destruction and fire suppression, so does the population of the Karner blue. They have already disappeared from many areas where they used to be quite common.

Monarchs, on the other hand are quite common. They are probably the most recognized butterfly in the world. They really love blazing star, which are blooming all around Necedah at this time. They need a lot of nectar because they will begin migrating south soon.

Another butterfly that was partaking of nectar from the wildflowers of Necedah was the eastern tiger swallowtail. The eastern tiger swallowtail is common though out most of the eastern United States. It can be confused with the Canadian tiger swallowtail, which is a bit smaller then the eastern tiger swallowtail but other then that they pretty much look the same, in the northern states where their ranges cross over.

Whooping Cranes

Here are some more pics of the two whooping cranes that I photographed flying over Necedah, NWR last October. The whooping crane, or whooper as it is frequently called, is found only in North America. It is the tallest bird in North America standing at almost 5 feet tall with a wingspan of over seven feet.

They got their name from the whooping call that the cranes make during the courtship process. Whoopers are ground nesters. They typically nest in marshy areas in around 10 inches of water to help prevent attacks from ground predators like fox and coyote. The nest is usually hidden in stands of bulrush or cattail. When they are born the young whoopers are flightless but can swim away from danger if necessary.
Due to habitat loss and hunting the whooping crane was brought to the brink of extinction. In 1941 there were only 15 wild whoopers left in North America. The whooper was put on the endangered species list and there are now several organizations that are working with the government to help increase the population of these birds.
Currently the wild whooper population stands at around 325. The bulk of the birds are the ancestors of the last flock of 15. They nest up in Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada, and winter in Aransas NWR in southeast Texas. To try and prevent the complete loss of the whooper population, if something catastrophic where to happen to the remaining wild flock, a second flock was created using captive born birds. These birds are raised in Wisconsin, mostly Necedah, and using ultra light aircraft the bird are lead down to south Florida during migration. After their first migration the birds find their own way back north so that they can migrate on their own after that. This eastern migratory flock currently has around 80 birds. Both flocks have been growing around an average of about 4% each year.

The Pros and Cons of Wind Power

With a new administration in the White House I have been hopeful that the US will finally get back on track as far as environmental issues. So far the Obama administration and the democratic congress have not made many large law or policy reforms when it comes to the environment. However I believe that once they have taken care of some of the other large issues, like the economy and the wars, that they will turn their sight on passing reforms designed to help the environment.
One of the big pushes so far has been to move to cleaner forms of energy, like wind power. Unfortunately nothing is free and even though wind power is much better for the environment then nuclear, coal, or other fossil fuels their are still trade offs. There are a couple of problems with wind farms that make them less green then most people think. First they take up potential habitat for wildlife, I do not consider this a huge problem because they do not take up any more habitat then things like strip mining and oil rigs the bigger problem is with bird and bat turbine collisions. Collisions kill many birds and bats each year especially during migration. With the plan to expand the number of wind farms how will this effect avian population?

Fortunately, according to an article at the American Bird Conservancy website, environmental groups, companies and the government are beginning to look into the effect that wind farms will have on birds, bats and migration and are formulating ways that they can minimize the impact. The article talks about projects where bird friendly organizations, like Audubon, American Bird Conservancy, Cornell and the Nature Conservancy are working to determine areas where wind farms may be a hazard to birds and thus should not be built. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is working on their recommendations on how to protect birds from wind farms and a wind energy company in Texas that uses radar to turn off wind turbines when a number of birds are present.

All of these positive steps are great but unfortunately not everyone is on board. The article speaks about projects in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas which are on the fast track to be built which may effect species like the endangered whooping cranes. Whoopers are already susceptible to collisions with things like power lines and transmission towers, many new wind turbines on their migration path would undoubtedly provide increased risk to this already endangered species.

Environmental Change

There is just 1 week to go until one of the most important elections that we have had in the US that I can remember. There are a lot of issues driving the current election, the economy, scandals, jobs, education, immigration, defense, women's reproductive rights, civil rights and many more. All of these issues are important, however since this is predominantly a nature blog this post is going to focus on the environmental issues.

For 8 long years our environment has been under assault. The Bush Administration has been the worst administration in US history when it comes to their environmental record. This is not just my opinion there are quite a few other people who agree.

The Daily Green

Al Gore

Robert Kennedy, Jr

There are many more but if I listed them all I would probably use up all of my available space. Bush has always supported business to the detriment of the environment. This includes rolling back regulations that were intended to protect the environment, as well as our health, so that businesses could pollute with out consequence. He also appointed people from apposing industries to positions that were responsible for protecting the environment. Here are just a few examples of some of the things that the administration has done which have had a negative effect on our environment.

Sierra Club

Foxriverwatch

Motherjones

Now with just a few months left before he is out of office Bush is working to weaken another environmental protection law, the Endangered Species Act. Under the new changes government officials would be able to proceed with federal projects with out consulting their own biologists as to what impact that the project would have on the environment and any endangered species.
So government officials might decide to drain wetlands on the Texas coast in order to put in a new freeway and totally neglect scientific evidence that this might interfere with the wintering grounds of the endangered whooping crane.

Or they may allow farmers in the Great Lakes Region to use some new chemical herbicide with out checking into whether or not it would effect the wild lupine that the endangered Karner blue butterfly needs to survive. These are just possible examples of the danger of not having the input and advice of scientists when making decisions that may effect the fate of an entire species.

Fortunately the reign of King George is nearly at an end but how do the current presidential candidates rank on environmental issues? Well according to The League of Conservation Voters Barack Obama scored a 67% in 2007, due mainly to missed votes, with an 86% lifetime rating. John McCain scored a 0% in 2007, due mainly to missed votes, with a 26% lifetime rating. Add to this John McCain's running mate, Caribou Barbie, who supports aerial wolf hunting, sued to have the polar bear taken off of the endangered species list, and her biggest claim to fame is that she has killed moose. Now watch this video and tell me why anyone would ever brag about killing a moose?

To me the choice is clear. The planet that we live on needs a CHANGE. It is up to all of us, living in the US, to begin that change in one week on November 4th.

Skywatch Friday

Welcome to Skywatch Friday, or Skywatch Thursday here in the Central Time Zone of North America. In my opinion there are few things that are more wondrous then a clear blue sky during the late Autumn here in the part of the world that I live in, but this past weekend I did find something even more wondrous.

A clear blue sky during the late Autumn with a pair of endangered whooping cranes flying across. I spent a day out at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge this weekend and was rewarded with a flyby from a pair of these magnificent birds. In 1941 there were only 16 whoopers left in the world since that time, with the help of a captive breeding program at the Necedah NWR, their population has increased approximately 5% per year so that there are now around 500 birds with about half of those in captivity.