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Ornithology

Series

1997

Sandhill crane

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Home Range And Habitat Use By Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes, Wenrui Duan, Theodore A. Bookhouts, Richard P. Urbanek Jan 1997

Home Range And Habitat Use By Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes, Wenrui Duan, Theodore A. Bookhouts, Richard P. Urbanek

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We isolation-reared, placed radio transmitters on, and released 38 greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) on Seney National Wildlife Refuge (Seney) in 1988-90 to develop procedures for initiating new populations of cranes. Here we report on habitat selection by breeding birds with functional radio transmitters. Home ranges established by 6 cranes in 1992, when they were 2 to 4 years old, averaged 199±50.8 (SE) ha (harmonic mean method, 75 % utilization) and were of 2 types: feeding grounds separated from nesting habitat and feeding grounds adjacent to nesting habitat. Home ranges consisted of 36% emergent palustrine wetlands, 28% …


Subspecies Composition Of Sandhill Crane Harvest In North Dakota, 1968-94, William L. Kendall, Douglas H. Johnson, Stanley C. Kohn Jan 1997

Subspecies Composition Of Sandhill Crane Harvest In North Dakota, 1968-94, William L. Kendall, Douglas H. Johnson, Stanley C. Kohn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

North Dakota is a major fall staging area for the Mid-continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis), which is composed of 3 subspecies: the greater (G. c. tabida), Canadian (G. c. rawani), and lesser (G. c. canadensis). The number of cranes killed by hunters in North Dakota averaged 6,793 during the 1990-94 seasons, ranking second highest among crane-hunting states. The distribution of harvest among subspecies is important, due to concerns about the poorly known status of these subspecies, especially the greater. We estimated subspecies composition of the harvest in North Dakota by …


Sandhill Crane Use Of The Mid-Pecos Valley Of Eastern New Mexico, James B. Montgomery Jr. Jan 1997

Sandhill Crane Use Of The Mid-Pecos Valley Of Eastern New Mexico, James B. Montgomery Jr.

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were monitored during winters 1989-94 in the mid-Pecos River Valley of eastern New Mexico to detennine how many used this region following a population decline in the 1980's. Numbers annually increased to a late October/early November peak (X = 7,017), fluctuated around 6,000 through December, declined in January (X = 3,531), and again peaked in February/early March (X = 5,737). Annual crane use-days (weekly counts X 7) varied from 500,545 to 1,007,673 (X = 760,606). Cranes foraged mainly in corn and sorghum stubble and alfalfa fields. Crop averages (ha) during 1990-92 were alfalfa 21,449, …


Sandhill Crane Hunts In The Rio Grande Valley And Southwest New Mexico, C. Gregory Schmitt, Barry Hale Jan 1997

Sandhill Crane Hunts In The Rio Grande Valley And Southwest New Mexico, C. Gregory Schmitt, Barry Hale

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Annual limited permit hunting seasons for sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) were initiated in southwestern New Mexico (SWNM) in 1982 and in the middle Rio Grande Valley (MRGV) in 1986. Within the MRGV and SWNM are wintering areas for 3 migratory subspecies, including the lesser sandhill crane (G. c. canadensis) (lessers). Canadian sandhill crane (G. c. rowani) (Canadians), and greater sandhill crane (G. c. tabida) (greaters). We summarized annual season dates, bag limits, requirements for permits, procedures for examination of crane specimens at check stations, number of hunters, estimated harvest, mean harvest per …


History Of Breeding Pairs And Nesting Sites Of The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Jacob M. Valentine Jr., Scott G. Hereford Jan 1997

History Of Breeding Pairs And Nesting Sites Of The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Jacob M. Valentine Jr., Scott G. Hereford

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Thirty-four Composite Nesting Areas (CNA's) of endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pulla) within the current breeding range in Jackson County, Mississippi, were located from 1965 to 1996, primarily by ground searching. Of those 34 CNA's located, 28 were on I of the 3 refuge units and 6 were off but adjacent to the refuge's Ocean Springs Unit. Five of the CNA's had 2-3 distinct smaller core nesting areas within. Two CNA's had active nests in more than 20 years, and those nests accounted for 11 % of the total. Nine CNA's accounted for 130 (63%) of the …


Use Of Ultralight Aircraft For Introducing Migratory Crane Populations, Kent R. Clegg, James C. Lewis, David H. Ellis Jan 1997

Use Of Ultralight Aircraft For Introducing Migratory Crane Populations, Kent R. Clegg, James C. Lewis, David H. Ellis

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) were used as the research surrogate for whooping cranes (Grus americana) to determine if captive-reared cranes could be led by an ultralight aircraft (UL) along a migration route and if, after release on a wintering area, they would integrate with wild cranes and migrate north in spring to their natal area without assistance. In 1995, KRC raised 15 cranes to fledging and trained them to respond to his vocal imitation of a sandhill crane brood call. Chicks learned to follow him as he walked, drove an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) , …


Woody Vegetation Expansion And Continuing Declines In Open Channel Habitat On The Platte River In Nebraska, Paul J. Currier Jan 1997

Woody Vegetation Expansion And Continuing Declines In Open Channel Habitat On The Platte River In Nebraska, Paul J. Currier

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Aerial videography in 1988 and 1994 of the same selected segments of the Big Bend reach of the Platte River in central Nebraska was compared. During this 6-year period, channel area declined 4 to 41 % (median 26%). In river segments where the channel had already narrowed significantly and at sites where channel habitat is actively managed declines were less (17-18%). These substantial changes occurred during a time that included a relatively low flow period (1990-92). Flows during the summer gertttination and establishment period (mid-May through August) for cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and willow (Salix spp.), the …


Modeling The Population Dynamics Of Gulf Coast Sandhill Cranes, Douglas H. Johnson, William L. Kendall Jan 1997

Modeling The Population Dynamics Of Gulf Coast Sandhill Cranes, Douglas H. Johnson, William L. Kendall

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Mid-continent Population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) has a large geographic range. contains nearly 500,000 birds, and is hunted in much of its range. The population includes 3 subspecies; the numbers of 2 of these are uncertain, and they should be afforded protection from hunting that would be detrimental to their population. The 2 subspecies of concern tend to concentrate in the eastern part of the Great Plains during fall and spring and to winter along the Gulf Coast in Texas. This paper uses the limited information availahle ahout the Gulf Coast subpopulation in a model. We …


A Reintroduction Technique For Migratory Birds: Leading Canada Geese And Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes With Ultralight Aircraft, William A. Lishman, Tighe L. Teets, Joseph W. Duff, William J. L. Sladen, Galvin G. Shire, Kirk M. Goolsby, Wayne A. Bezner Kerr, Richard Urbanek Jan 1997

A Reintroduction Technique For Migratory Birds: Leading Canada Geese And Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes With Ultralight Aircraft, William A. Lishman, Tighe L. Teets, Joseph W. Duff, William J. L. Sladen, Galvin G. Shire, Kirk M. Goolsby, Wayne A. Bezner Kerr, Richard Urbanek

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

No successful method for establishing self-sustaining populations of whooping cranes (Grus americana), particularly in a migration situation, has been proven. This research initiated development of a reintroduction technique using ultralight aircraft to lead cranes from a natal area along a desired route to a predetermined wintering site. Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were used in initial migration efforts. Ultralight aircraft and pilots successfully led 86 juvenile geese on 3 southbound migrations from Ontario to winter sites 640-1,312 kIn from the natal area. Of 16 1993-hatched geese that survived their first winter in Virginia and 35 1994- hatched …


Results Of An Experiment To Lead Cranes On Migration Behind Motorized Ground Vehicles, David H. Ellis, Brian Clauss, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, R. Curt Mykut, Matthew Kinloch, Catherine H. Ellis Jan 1997

Results Of An Experiment To Lead Cranes On Migration Behind Motorized Ground Vehicles, David H. Ellis, Brian Clauss, Tsuyoshi Watanabe, R. Curt Mykut, Matthew Kinloch, Catherine H. Ellis

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Ten greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) , trained to enter and ride in a specially-equipped truck, were transported at ca 80 days of age from their rearing site at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent), Maryland, to a reintroduction site located within the species' former breeding range in northern Arizona. After 5 additional weeks of training, these juvenile cranes were led south ca 600 km to a wintering area on the Arizona/Mexico border. Nine of the 10 survived the trek, 495 km of which were flown, although only a few cranes flew every stage of the route. Their …