Greater Sandhill Cranes--An Intimate View of Family Life

"Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins,
as in art, with the pretty.  It expands through
successive stages of beautiful to values as yet
uncaptured by language.  The quality of cranes lies,
I think, in this higher gamut, as yet beyond the reach of words.
            --Aldo Leopold--A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There            

When Aldo Leopold was writing these words in the 1940's, he, as well as other leading biologists across the continent, thought Sandhill cranes would vanish along with Whooping Cranes.  "At this pivotal time, the crane's capacity to inspire human caring and action made a crucial difference to the species' future, as did the commitment of a few individuals....Sandhill populations recovered because of changes both in human behavior and crane behavior."  (Archibald and Harris in the introduction to On Ancient Wings by Michael Forsberg.)

The conservation of wetlands, the occurrence of adjacent agricultural waste grain fields, and stringent hunting restrictions were all key to this recovery.

Sandhill cranes are tenacious about their migration path and their stop-over sites.  But this behavior is known to change over time with the influence of human activity. Traditionally in the east, sandhill cranes migrated from breeding grounds in Wisconsin to wintering grounds in south Georgia and Florida.  But in recent years the planting of corn at the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge, intended to attract and support hunted water fowl, also attracted sandhill cranes.  Consequently, a quarter of the eastern migrating population has wintered in east Tennessee in recent years.

Sandhill cranes staging in waste grain fields adjacent to the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers at the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge in 2004.

It is this spectacle of staging and wintering-over Sandhill cranes, along with the reintroduction of the endangered Whooping crane, that has attracted and delighted thousands of wildlife viewers to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in the past nineteen years. In fact, the wildlife viewing festival that resulted, The Cherokee Heritage and Sandhill Crane Viewing Days, was named to the Top Twenty Events list in 2002 by the Southeast Tourism Society.

In this post, with the generous permission of my friend, Charlie Corbeil, naturalist and talented photographer from Brevard County, Florida, you are seeing intimate views of a Sandhill crane family.  The large gathering of cranes described above is made up of family units consisting of a pair of crane parents and usually one, sometimes two, juveniles--juveniles that have rapidly grown to nearly the size of their parents in a few short months, fledged just in time to migrate, and still retain their peeping chick voices. In fact, the cries of a juvenile sandhill crane separated from parents during migration can move an observer to tears.     

Sandhill cranes mate for life.  Young are taught their migration route by their parents and remain with their parents until the next breeding season.  It is in this family unit that young are protected, learn to find food and learn to select safe roosting sites in wetland shallows.  Here is where juveniles are socialized and learn important survival skills, including those needed for pair bonding and reproduction.  

In the beautiful slide show below, you will enjoy a rare close-up view of a sandhill crane family shortly after their two chicks hatch.  Sandhill cranes are attentive parents.  As you view the images, you will find their gentleness heart-warming, their beauty and elegance "beyond the reach of words."  

A special thank you to Charlie Corbeil for sharing his beautiful photography.

In North America there are only two true cranes--Sandhill cranes and Whooping Cranes.  In eastern North America, we enjoy the eastern population of the Greater Sandhill Crane, a subspecies of Sandhill cranes, and in recent years, the Whooping Crane, a reintroduced population whose arrival marked the first wild migration of Whooping cranes in the east in over a century.

A Sandhill Crane Hunt Proposal in Tennessee is now in its final stages and inviting public comment.  Take a moment to visit the links provided below and let the TN Wildlife Resources Commission know you DON'T want a sandhill crane hunt in Tennessee.  If the Commission passes this hunt proposal, Tennessee will be the first state in US history to initiate a hunting season for Sandhill cranes in the east (Atlantic/Mississippi Flyways).  Other states are lined up to follow (KY, MN, WI).

  

Scroll to the bottom of this page, Sandhill Crane Hunt Proposal, to find TWRA's comment link.  Below I have listed some reasons that support opposition to this hunt.  Please add your own.

Reasons to oppose this hunt include but are not limited to: 

• Sandhill cranes are a valuable wildlife watching attraction in TN.  Initiating a hunt will severely interfere with the pleasure of wildlife watchers.   
• Hunting sandhill cranes will damage the relationships between the rapidly growing numbers of wildlife watchers in TN and the TN Wildlife Resources Agency.
• Initiating a hunt on a species that has never been hunted in the east is a serious consideration and requires a longer period of investigation and public input than has been allowed.
• Initiating this hunt will add an additional danger to rare Whooping cranes that have been reintroduced in the east.  
• Size estimates for this population are not standardized or consistently measured making the assumptions supporting this hunt inadequate.  
• Human use and consumption of wetland habitat used by this population is inadequately investigated.    
• The nine depredation permits issues in TN over the past three years is an inadequate number to support hunting based on nuisance or population management

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission will make the final decision.  The members of this commission  can be found here; email addresses and fax numbers are provided.

To read more about why this hunt is a bad idea visit:

Sandhill Crane Hunting in TN?  Multiple factors say, NO

Also visit the TN Ornithological Society's information and position on the proposed sandhill crane hunt and their well articulated letter to the Commission

Clink this link to find out what's happening in Kentucky 

Blog posts around the continent opposing the hunting of cranes in Tennessee:  

Julie Zickefoose's discussion on 10,000 Birds, Shooting Sandhills in Tennessee

The Birder's Report:  Help Stop the Sandhill Crane Hunt

Stephen Lyn Bales, author of Ghost Birds, on Sandhill Cranes in Tennessee.

Gary Louck of Greenback, TN--Cranes in Peril

Sandhill Crane Hunting in Tennessee? Multiple Factors Say, NO

"The cranes were spectacular--thousands and thousands of them, on the shore, on distant sandbars, in flight behind me and in front of me, soaring in from all directions, filling the air with their wonderful calls." 
Sketchbook journal--Vickie Henderson, Feb 5, 2000, Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Tennessee

This was my initial description of the spectacle of staging sandhill cranes at the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge in TN, an awe-inspiring experience that launched me into a ten-year journey that has been dedicated to experiencing wildlife in wild places and sharing the joy of that experience through art.

It was at this refuge, during this sandhill crane migration and the Cherokee Heritage and Sandhill Crane Viewing Days, a joint venture between members of the TN Ornithological Society (TOS) and the TN Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), that I experienced my first wild sightings of three magnificent birds, the Greater Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, all in one day.  At this event I also learned about TWRA's Golden Eagle hacking project, and the upcoming ultralight-led migration project that has, since that time, successfully re-introduced migrating Whooping Cranes to the east.

Later that year, in June of 2000, I drove from Tennessee to Wyoming to join TWRA's Golden Eagle hacking project's climbing crew in the collection of golden eaglets to be transported back to Tennessee.  (See "hacking" explanation at end of post.)

Preparation for my cross-country journey included a thirty-minute orientation meeting with TWRA's Bruce Anderson, head of the project, at his regional office in Crossville, TN.  This was the extent of what we knew about each other before I joined the TWRA team in Gillette, WY as a volunteer, my first ever endeavor of this kind.  

Once there, in the course of four packed days of off-road driving, the collection of thirteen eaglets from nests using ropes and ascenders (leaving one eaglet in the nest for parents to raise), and the feeding of eaglets in the evenings, I developed an enormous regard and respect for the wildlife officers involved in this project.  In that compact amount of time, I was exposed to a deep reverence for wildlife, a dedicated work ethic, a sound devotion to conservation, militant "tree hugger" attitudes directed toward the project team, and, yes, to hunting.  The brief hunting encounter involved the sacrifice of a rabbit to add fresh meat to the young eaglets' diet, otherwise consisting of frozen mice transported from TN.  

All of the members of this wildlife team, with the exception of one other volunteer, were employees of TWRA.  All, with the exception of yours truly, were hunters.  On a very personal level, this experience forever opened my mind and heightened my regard for the best of those individuals we term "hunters".  Those of us who watch wildlife and choose not to hunt have something infinitely valuable in common with these hunters--we all revere wildlife and want to save the wild places they inhabit.

Of all the reasons I don't want to see a sandhill crane hunt in Tennessee, this one ranks high among them. Sandhill cranes have done more to bring hunters and wildlife watchers together in TN than all other species combined, and the festival that celebrated their presence has been responsible for inspiring and educating thousands of people about wildlife projects in Tennessee.  The spectacle and delight of staging sandhill cranes formed the center-piece that provided opportunity to educate, adding numbers to our environmental forces, bringing revenue into our state, and inspiring individuals like me to get involved.

And what Tennessee is doing to help wildlife and the environment is exciting and something to be celebrated.  Since 2003, more than 350,000 acres have been protected across Tennessee, and TWRA is the steward of all these lands and its wildlife inhabitants.

Regarding these land transactions, TN's Environment and Conservation Commissioner, Jim Fyke, in his message in the current issue of the TN Conservationist, credits Governor Phil Bredesen for his invaluable leadership in these conservation efforts and says the following:  "Governor Bredesen knew preserving our state's most special habitats and natural features today was a long-term investment in the quality of life for all Tennesseans.  He realized economic vitality and our natural resources are directly linked, especially in Tennessee.  Thoughtful conservation investment in these resources helps promote heritage tourism and sustainable outdoor recreation activities with meaningful future returns."

If we need to assign economic value to the Greater Sandhill Crane's sheltered presence in Tennessee in order to deter the current effort to hunt them, there it is.  But, before I continue with the economic factors, lets look at cranes themselves, their Whooping crane cousins, and some complex factors that indicate that hunting cranes would be an unwise decision--a decision, by the way, that is not made by TWRA, but by a commission of Tennessee citizens who are relying on our voices to help them determine the outcome of this issue.          

Sandhill Crane Ecology

The eastern population of Greater Sandhill Cranes has come back from the brink of extinction from only 25 breeding pairs remaining in Wisconsin in the 1930's to more than 50,000 now migrating through the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways.  I am proud that Tennessee has been a part of this success story through the conservation of wetlands and refuge crop plantings that helped sustain these struggling cranes, as well as, supported wintering waterfowl and other migrating species.

It is here that I want to mention that the numbers often quoted for sandhill crane populations, "500-600,000 sandhill cranes" are referencing sandhill crane populations in the central flyway, the majority of which are the Lesser Sandhill Crane, a separate and distinct sub-species of sandhill crane.  The only sandhill cranes present in the state of Tennessee are members of the eastern population of Greater Sandhill Cranes.   

Sandhill cranes are family-oriented birds, mating for life, remaining in family groups throughout the breeding season and during migration.  Though lost mates are eventually replaced, the surviving partner in the pair is known to grieve the loss.  Juveniles separated from parents during migration are less likely to survive, having lost both protection and assistance in finding food.  Though sandhill families migrate in flocks, they do not mingle or adopt lost juveniles, but rather, establish small territories within a flock's feeding ground and defend their family's territory against intrusion.  

A sandhill crane's first breeding season begins at two to seven years of age, averaging 4.3 years of age, with the laying of two eggs, and more often with only one colt surviving.  Though sandhill cranes are typically long-lived, this makes for a slow and low reproductive replacement rate.  

Historically our country has relied heavily on population numbers to determine the health of a species without sufficient consideration of species' ecology and the impact of human use and consumption of vital habitat.  Sandhill cranes rely on wetlands for their survival. They must roost in shallow water as a protection from predators.          

The United States Environmental Protection Agency presents these facts about the status and trends of US wetlands:   The lower 48 states contained an estimated 105.5 million acres of wetlands in 1997, an area about the size of California.  Between 1986 and 1997, an estimated 58,500 acres of wetlands were lost each year in the conterminous United States.  [This period followed the implementation of wetland protection measures. Until another study is released, the implication is that this trend continues.]  Loss of wetlands today involve more than physical loss due to drainage and development, but other factors that are more difficult to measure.  Other threats include chemical contamination, excess nutrients, and sediment from air and water.  Global climate change could affect wetlands through increased air temperature; shifts in precipitation; increased frequency of storms, droughts, and floods; increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration; and sea level rise.  All of these impacts could affect species composition and wetland functions.

We do not know how these factors will affect this population of Greater Sandhill Cranes.

Whooping Cranes 

In the fall of 2001, Operation Migration conducted the first-ever ultralight-led migration with endangered Whooping cranes, leading them from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin to Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.  In the spring these juveniles returned to their fledging grounds unassisted by humans, representing the first Whooping cranes to fly in the Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways in over a century.  As a result of this project, involving the cooperation of two national governments, and many state and private organizations, we now have 96 Whooping cranes migrating in the east, a population that has been introduced to help safeguard the remaining wild Whooping crane population that migrates from breeding grounds in Canada to wintering grounds on the coast of Texas.  This original wild population suffered a loss of 10% in their 2009 wintering season, attributable to insufficient food supply and starvation caused by restricted fresh water inflows from the Guadalupe River.  A law suit against Texas water regulators has been filed by U.S. environmentalists.  

When Whooping Cranes were re-introduced in the east, they were designated as a "nonessential experimental population" by the USFWS, essentially meaning that if a Whooping Crane is accidentally injured or killed during a lawful act, the person committing the act cannot be prosecuted. This designation was necessary to reach agreement with all the states affected by the presence of re-introduced, migrating Whooping cranes.  In addition, the flyway states are partners in this endeavor and these partnerships made, and still make, the Whooping crane reintroduction possible.  

Having said that, Tennessee represents the midway point of the eastern Whooping Crane's migration from Wisconsin to Florida, a journey through a migration corridor that acts as a funnel for migrating cranes.  The Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge is a major staging area for this population of whoopers, as well as, sandhill cranes.  These re-introduced Whooping Cranes represent an investment of millions of dollars and ten years of concerted effort on the part of public and private organizations and many thousands of supporters in an effort to help safeguard an endangered species against extinction.    

Though I am confident that the USFWS and TWRA would do everything possible to educate potential hunters should this proposal go forward, this education would not eliminate the risk of bad aim or a strayed shot, nor would it eliminate the possibility of human error in identification.  The Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes of the Hiwassee refuge and surrounding area frequently mingle; they feed together and they come and go together.  In poor light, in the sun's glare, while looking skyward at distant birds in flight, the most experienced of us cannot easily distinguish them in an instant.  

Greater sandhill cranes and four Whooping cranes mingle while feeding at the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge on an overcast day.  The white and cinnamon Whooping crane in the upper left is a juvenile.
    

This brings me back to the economic issues.
The proposal to hunt sandhill cranes in Tennessee has reached this level, the level of final commission decision, because a small group of organized hunters knew the approval system well enough to actively pursue it.  The hunt, if approved, will serve a small group of special interests, not the majority of the citizens in Tennessee, and take valuable time and money from other wildlife management projects.  Between 2008 and 2010 only nine sandhill depredation permits were requested in TN and granted by the USFWS, indicating that hunting as a management tool is currently a weak argument for this hunt.  Public relations and funding dollars, on the other hand, are enormous arguments for opposing the hunt.

Funding
I recently had the pleasure of hearing TWRA's Executive Director, Ed Carter, speak at a Tennessee for Wilderness Planning meeting in LaFollette, TN.  In that talk, he addressed the issue of funding for the agency, which is currently based on the sales of licenses and taxes on hunting paraphernalia.  Currently, a hunting license may be purchased by a hunter and that revenue will be matched by the federal government to support the agency.  By contrast, if a non-hunter purchases a license and checks the non-hunter box on the application, no matching funds are received by the state.  There is something very wrong with this picture. Our federal and state laws and regulations are not keeping pace with the rapid increase in wildlife-watching participation.

According to a USFWS survey, from 1996 to 2006, wildlife watching by TN residents increased by 81%, while hunting declined by 25%; from 2001-2005 spending by resident hunters was down 10%, while spending by wildlife watchers was up 112%.  And among the 2.8 million residents and non-residents who participated in wildlife related activities in Tennessee in 2006, 84% were wildlife watching and only 12% were hunting.  (See the resource links below to find the same information for your state.)

The trend is clear, but wildlife-watching dollars are not being funneled to the agency responsible for managing the places wildlife watchers enjoy.  And the problem is not just here in Tennessee, but it is true in every state in the USA.  We, as wildlife watchers and hunters, need to support our state wildlife management organizations by lobbying to change the laws that govern their funding.  Besides believing that it is in my state's best interest to deny the approval of a sandhill crane hunt, I also believe it is in the best interest of every state in the flyway.  Tennessee has an opportunity to set a precedent here.  And as one of its concerned citizens, I would like to see that precedent set in favor of harmony, rather than hunting, and instead, focus on pro-active planning and thoughtful harnessing of the growing numbers of wildlife watchers in our state.  We need all of their energy to help change antiquated laws so that our wildlife management programs can go forward with sufficient funding.

And to all wildlife watchers who enjoy our state, the time is now to send your opinion on the proposed sandhill crane hunt in TN to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission.  Every letter makes a difference.

Photo credits:  Photo of the author holding a golden eaglet in Wyoming taken by Bruce Anderson.

Definitions:

Hacking:  Hacking is a means of re-establishing an extirpated population of raptors and involves placing a juvenile raptor in an enclosure and feeding it until it is ready to fledge or take its first flight.  Young raptors are known to return to the place where they initially fledge to establish their own nesting territory.  This is the method that has been used throughout the USA to re-establish bald eagle and peregrin falcon populations.

Tree Hugger:  a derogatory slang expression for an environmentalist or someone who is trying to save wildlife

Great Blue Herons--Spring at the Rookery

Spring begins silently, in unnoticed ways. While we humans are still shivering and wishing for more sunshine, many bird species have been busy building nests, strengthening pair bonds and mating.

When I took the photos below, I was standing braced against the side of the upper deck of the Blue Moon as we moved along the windy Tennessee River approaching a great blue heron colony. I was thinking how exciting to actually see herons at their nests from a closer distance without disturbing them.

In this colony, only one pair built their nest in the trees. The rest used the braces of a tranformer tower for their platforms.

As an artist who enjoys observing animal and bird behavior, I aim for reference photos and that intimate connection that stirs my joy and the desire to create. And I try to capture the moment, images that bring me new insights into the world of my subject.
In this case, I was hoping for something a little more than what I knew and what I got was packed with exciting information about another species that lives near the water in east Tennessee and now thrives, despite the fact that it once was rapidly disappearing. The heron above seems to have landed on an empty nest. But nestled down in its center is his mate who soon rose up to greet him and received the fresh twig.
Below, another heron flies toward the lower level braces where he has positioned his nest. You can see his mate waiting expectantly for his arrival. As you move through the photos notice how the pair greet each other, erect their plumes and stretch their necks to display their plumage, a ritual that helps anchor their pair bond.

When I looked at these images, I saw what none of us could see in the few minutes it took to pass the rookery. That this moment was captured frame by frame in a time that spanned less than 60 seconds makes me feel even more privileged. It was one of those gifts of place and time that nature sometimes hands us unexpectedly. In fact, my whole experience on the cruise seemed to be like that.

While we wait a bit longer for the human version of spring to arrive, there is plenty of evidence in Tennessee’s bird community that spring is already underway.

To see the entire Blue Moon Cruise series click here.

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #29 at Birdfreak.com in support of the conservation of our world's birds.

A Striking Subadult Bald Eagle

When a juvenile bald eagle leaves the nest, it is a mostly dark bird with variable amounts of white mottling that is sometimes localized in patches. Its beak and cere (nostril area) are dark brown and its eyes are dark brown. The immature eagle then goes through a series of five annual partial molts as it changes into adult plummage, usually by year five, and becomes the mature bald eagle that we most often recognize with that flashing white head and tail. This beautiful subadult is probably into its third year of age, identified in part by that osprey-like look to his face, his yellowing cere and tawny but not dark beak. This I have on the opinion of a veteran birder observing him with me, only because I asked. And I did ask because I had never had the opportunity to see these facial markings before. Pretty striking, huh?He was resting on a sandbar as we passed the Hiwassee Island on our return trip to the marina. Eagles are known to perch on the ground as well as on limbs and dead knobs.And just before we encountered him, we spotted two more subadults in flight coming from the same area. He is believed to be the third of a group of subadults seen hanging out together over the winter. He sat quietly as we passed, then finally decided to lift off, presumably to join his buddies. Need I say what a gorgeous sight that was? The power in those wings... In all we saw seven bald eagles, two adults and five subadults.

This is the second of a series on my recent Blue Moon cruise on the Tennessee River. Click here to see the first post.

Next: herons displaying at the rookery.

Bald Eagle Spring

How do we know its spring? For many it’s when the snow melts, when we can shed our coats or when the first blooms appear.But this week I've experienced a different view of spring through the activities of several bird species that are deep into pair bonding and nesting here in east Tennessee, in southeastern USA. It was fortuitous that I made the decision yesterday to take a voyage on the Blue Moon, down the Tennessee River, departing from the Sale Creek Marina in Soddy Daisy, TN. Today I awoke to a blanket of fresh snow! But the source of my contentment goes much deeper than weather. It rests with the richness of our natural world and those who have loved it enough to help preserve it.

My gratitude began even before I arrived at the marina. What I witnessed as I drove across the bridge over the Tennessee River on Hwy 30 brought tears to my eyes. With the golden pink of sunrise still glowing on the horizon, more than a thousand sandhill cranes rose in front of me, their bodies waving in long broken V’s, above me and below me, some at nearly eye level, shimmering like mythical winged creatures as they departed their roosts for feeding grounds or more northerly breeding destinations.

The awe of this one moment would have been enough to make my day but there was more to come.
Our 3.5 hour journey on the Blue Moon took us from the Hiwassee River to the Tennessee River, around the grassy Hiwassee Island and through the Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge. This is the area where thousands of sandhill cranes and endangered whooping cranes stage and where waterfowl, shore birds and eagles spend their winter months. I expected to see a bald eagle or two on this trip, but I wasn't expecting what I witnessed--a pair of eagles at the nest. Above in the warm sunlight you see one eagle perched on the nest, the other, directly above, is partially concealed by a pine bough. Wintering eagles arrive in Tennessee in late October and their numbers peak by late January to early February. But nesting bald eagles remain in Tennessee year around and are generally incubating by February 10-15. While we watched, the eagle on the upper branch lifted from his perch.There were 14 active nests at Reelfoot Lake in western Tennessee in 1955. But Tennessee had no known successful eagle nests from 1961 until 1983. The hatching of one bald eaglet in 1983 marked the first known successful bald eagle nest in Tennessee in 22 years.Due largely to the banning of the insecticide DDT in the U.S. in 1972 and restoration efforts since 1976, bald eagle nests in the lower 48 states doubled about every 6 years from 1980 to 2001.
I had not seen a bald eagle in the wild until I visited the Hiwassee Wildlife refuge in 1999. It was there that I first encountered thousands of staging sandhill cranes, met organized birders with their scopes set up to bring them closer into view and witnessed my first bald and golden eagles in flight over head with identification help from veteran birders. And to add one more tidbit of history, in the early 60's, greater sandhill cranes were only suspected as migrating through Tennessee but rarely observed.

And so yesterday's journey took me full circle. It's February of 2009, exactly ten years later and I have again witnessed thousands of sandhill cranes and topped it off with a pair of bald eagles at their nest and I can't help but feel immeasurable gratitude.

We humans would be a formidable species indeed, if every individual on the planet joined forces to revere and preserve the beauty and balance of our natural world in the same manner that many championed our bald eagles. World peace and prosperity would surely follow.

Above, our hosts on the Blue Moon cruise. From left, Rick Houlk, one of the owners and cruise naturalist; yours truely; Will Ross, crew member; Dave Anderson, captain and interpreter.

Coming up: More highlights from the cruise--immature bald eagles, blue herons at the rookery; and in a separate story, a nesting pair of red-shouldered hawks.