Bob Hatcher Honored with AEF Bald Eagle Release

Challenger, the famous free-flying Bald Eagle, cared for by the American Eagle Foundation, who has flown free during the singing of the national anthem at many national sports events, paid a visit to a very special person earlier this week--Bob Hatcher.

The name Robert M. Hatcher is practically synonymous with the phrase "Bald Eagle recovery in Tennessee". In the 1960s and '70s, Bald Eagles were on the brink of extinction, with only about 400 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states and no known eagle nests in Tennessee. Since then, strict protection laws, the banning of DDT, and dedicated restoration and recovery efforts have helped restore this majestic species to America's skies. As of January 2014, there are about 143 successful Bald Eagle nests in Tennessee. From these nests, around 250 eaglets fledged in 2013. As of today, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, American Eagle Foundation and other partners have released 358 captive-hatched or translocated eaglets into the wilds of Tennessee.

Betty Hatcher (Bob's wife), Laura Cecere and Challenger at the Bells Bend release.  Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge

The American Eagle Foundation (AEF) in cooperation with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) released a Bald Eagle near the Cumberland River in Nashville on Tuesday, July 15th, 2014 at the Bell's Bend Park. This release honored Bob Hatcher, who initiated Tennessee's Bald Eagle recovery efforts in the early 1980s.

The AEF and TWRA arranged this special eagle release to honor and thank 76-year-old Bob Hatcher for his dedication to helping bring our nation's living symbol, the Bald Eagle, back from the brink of extinction. He served as the Non-Game and Endangered Species Coordinator for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency from 1978 to 2001 and served TWRA for a total of 38 years. 

Above, former TWRA Executive Director, Gary Myers addresses the audience.  Photo credit:  Cyndi Routledge

The AEF invitation to the event included the following:  "Since the mid-80s, Hatcher has been a mentor and close friend of Al Cecere, Founder and President of the American Eagle Foundation (Est. in 1985). Hatcher is one of the main reasons the AEF exists, having generously volunteered thousands of hours of time and expertise to the cause.  TWRA Executive Director Ed Carter, AEF President Al Cecere, and Mr. Hatcher's Wife, Daughter, Son, family, and friends will attend the ceremony to recognize and honor this exemplary individual.... The Bald Eagle to be released on Tuesday will be appropriately named "Hatcher's Legacy"....  

"Mr. Hatcher is dearly loved and respected by friends, colleagues, and conservation representatives all over Tennessee and the country. He is the epitome of selflessness, integrity, patience, passion, and humility. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty for the sake of Bald Eagle and endangered species conservation. He has always been a big promotor of "symbiotic relationships," focusing on what people could achieve by working cooperatively together and sharing the credit. Thus, he has humbly never taken the full credit that his friends and colleagues all know that he so greatly deserves. He is a legacy....Through this release, we hope that the public will truly understand the impact Mr. Hatcher has made not only on endangered and threatened species conservation, but on the thousands of people he has taken the time and patience to individually speak to, teach, and mentor throughout his life. More importantly, however, we hope Mr. Hatcher will truly understand how grateful we all are for his lifelong selfless dedication."  (American Eagle Foundation press release and invitation).

Al Cecere, President and Founder, American Eagle Foundation, Dollywood, Tennessee.  Photo credit: Cyndi Routledge

TWRA Executive Director Ed Carter (above left) announces the establishment of an annual scholarship fund named in honor of Bob Hatcher, to be awarded to a biology student with an concentration in Ornithology. The first scholarship will be awarded in the fall of 2014.  The scholarship will be administered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation.

James Rogers speaks briefly before singing "Fly Eagle Fly".

Above, Al Cecere and family members listen to "Fly Eagle Fly".

More than 150 people attended the event honoring Hatcher and witnessed the eagle release.

Ron Hoff, President of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) (above left) with TOS members Susan Hollyday, Ken Dubke (Chattanooga), and Polly Rooker.

Above, Hatcher's Legacy's palagial tag.

Bob was unable to attend the event due to illness but the ceremony and release were video-taped for his viewing afterward.

Appreciation to Cyndi Routledge for all of the above photographs and to the American Eagle Foundation and TWRA for this public tribute to one of Tennessee's greatest and most beloved conservationists.

Bob Hatcher (third from left) pictured with Ken Dubke (Chattanooga TOS), Joan Garland (International Crane Foundation) and Ed Carter, Executive Director, TWRA, at the 2013 Sandhill Crane festival held at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. Photo credit: Bob Hatcher

Links and Resources:

American Eagle Foundation

American Eagle Foundation facebook --image of Challenger's visit to Bob Hatcher 

Tennessee Watchable Wildlife--bald eagle

Facts about Bald Eagles in Tennessee--Bob Hatcher is the author of this document

Tennessee Ornithological Society

TWRA

TN Conservationist Magazine--The Peregrine Falcon in Tennessee

The July/August issue of the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine is in the hands of many subscribers now and if you haven't received your copy, its on its way. This issue includes my article on the "The Peregrine Falcon in Tennessee" and I am delighted that the article received the cover headline.

The recovery of the Peregrine Falcon is one of the greatest conservation stories in our nation's history.   Peregrine Falcon populations plummeted in the United States due to the widespread use of DDT after WWII, and the species was completely extirpated from the eastern United States.  A species that preys on small birds, peregrines absorbed the pesticide into their tissue and their eggs became too thin for incubation.  

The article tells the story of restoration efforts in Tennessee and the first breeding Peregrine Falcons discovered in 1997, fifty years after the species disappeared from the state.  But Tennessee's story is not complete.  USFWS reports that North America recorded from 2000-3000 breeding pairs of Peregrines in 2012.  Tennessee records currently confirm only one productive breeding eyrie, while neighboring states report from 10-23.  In the early twentieth century, prior to the species decline, Tennessee had 25 confirmed eyries.

It is uncertain whether more birds are breeding and remain undetected, or some unknown factor is interfering with the return of the species to historic breeding sites. Hopefully, the article will raise awareness and increase efforts to discover the reason for the Peregrine's slow recovery in Tennessee.

I would like to acknowledge those who contributed information to this article, especially fellow Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS) members , Harold Sharp and Jack Gentle for their historical observations and photographs, and the TOS publication, The Migrant.  Greg Lavaty of  Sugar Land, Texas, contributed beautiful flight photographs.

A special thank you to Louise Zepp, editor of the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine, and her staff for the beautiful layout, cover headline and for highlighting the article on the magazine's website.

Links and Resources:
Tennessee Conservation Magazine
Greg Lavaty Photography and Bird Guiding
Tennessee Ornithological Society (TOS)
The Migrant--TOS' scientific publication

Join Me! Bird Attitudes: Inspiring Art and Conservation

Join me,  Wednesday, March 7th, at the Knoxville Tennesseee Ornithological Society meeting (KTOS) for an evening of photos, art and stories as I show you how birds inspire my art and my passion for conservation.

Birds are funny, fun and fascinating.  From the top of their heads to the pads on their feet, a birds size, color and shape offer many clues into its life style and habits.   Add to that, the personality revealed through behavior and you have the inspiration for all kinds of bird-related pursuits, including advocacy and conservation.

Join me as I share my photography, art and stories, and show you just what inspires me to pick up my brushes and paint.

KTOS Meeting information--Wednesday evening, March 7th, 6:45 pm.
Directions

Kentucky Sandhill Crane Hunt Proposal---Act Now!

Kentucky has initiated a proposal to hunt sandhill cranes that will be voted on by the Kentucky Wildlife Resources Commission this spring.  If passed, the hunting of sandhill cranes could start as soon as December of 2011.  

Unfinished sandhill crane watercolor by Vickie Henderson

If you responded to Tennessee's proposal, pull out your letter to the Tennessee Commissioners and send a similar letter to Kentucky Commissioners.  This is the same Eastern population of sandhill cranes that we protected from the Tennessee hunt proposal earlier this year.  The issues are the same!

Below I've included email addresses for two Kentucky Commissioners.  A link with contact information for all the commissioners is found at the end of the post, including phone numbers.

Commissioner Jon Gassett
jon.gassett@ky.gov

Commissioner Stuart Ray
stu@ray4kdfwr.com

I am also including my letter here.  Feel free to use any of the points I've included in your letter.  Act now!

March 14, 2011

Commissioner Jon Gassett
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
#1 Sportsman’s Lane 
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

As a writer, artist, and naturalist with a ten-year history of supporting crane conservation, I am writing to ask the Kentucky Wildlife Resources Commission to deny the proposed sandhill crane hunt in Kentucky.   

As you know, earlier this year the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission deferred the hunting of sandhill cranes in Tennessee for another two years.  One important reason is the wide discrepancy in mid-winter count survey numbers—in Tennessee those figures were 48,000 counted in 2010 versus only 12,000 counted in 2011. 

Unlike the sandhill cranes in other parts of the country, the Eastern Population of Greater Sandhill cranes is a separate and distinct population that has slowly recovered from near extirpation in the past 70 years.  According to the authors of the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyway Council’s joint management plan, there are many problems with the current survey count methods and further studies are needed. 

Additionally, sandhill cranes reproduce very slowly.  They reach breeding maturity at four to seven years of age, produce only one chick per nesting season, and only one in three offspring survive to fledging age.  This slow reproduction rate is unlike any other avian game species currently hunted.  Additionally, there have been no studies of the occurrence of fledgling offspring on wintering grounds.

Ohio has tracked two families of their state-endangered breeding sandhill cranes and found them to have wintered over in Tennessee in 2010.  Initiating a hunting season at this point can destroy the restoration of some eastern state’s breeding populations.

While crop depredation is identified as a reason to hunt sandhill cranes, there are no studies that show that hunting reduces crop depredation by sandhill cranes.  On the other hand, there are non-lethal remedies that are successfully deterring crop depredation.

As a resource, large numbers of sandhill cranes migrating through Kentucky have more value to the state of Kentucky as a wildlife attraction.  Only a small number of people in Kentucky would benefit from establishing a hunting season for sandhill cranes.  On the other hand, the negative public relations created by establishing this season would far out weigh any benefit. 

Nebraska sees the migration of more than 500,000 staging sandhill cranes in the spring, does not permit hunting, and reaps the benefit of more than $10 million dollars a year in tourism dollars. 

A five-year study of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail recently reported that the trail attracts more than 640,000 visitors annually, infusing more than $8.6 million into the state economy each year.   95% of these visitors plan to visit the Trail again. 

The numbers of wildlife watchers spending dollars nationwide are steadily rising and staging sandhill cranes create a conservation spectacle that everyone loves to celebrate.  Take advantage of this opportunity and please say “no” to hunting the Eastern Population of sandhill cranes. 

Sincerely, 

Vickie Henderson

The beautiful sandhill crane image above was taken by Charlie Corbeil.  Visit his gallery at Charlie Corbeil Photography.

Links and resources:

Click here for the names and phone numbers of all Kentucky Commissioners.  If you don't like writing letters, please let the Commissioners here from you by phone.  It is always a good idea to send your letter to each Commissioner.  They are all individuals with different ideas about the issue.  I found the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commissioners very receptive to the information they received from interested individuals.

Visit the Kentucky Coalition for Sandhill Cranes for more information about Kentucky's proposal.

Julie Zickefoose's blog post at 10,000 birds, including her letter to the commissioners:  Sandhill Crane Hunt in Kentucky?!  You can also read her comments at her blog:  The Crane Battle Moves to KY

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #133 to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

A New Plan for the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes

I am happy and relieved to report that the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission voted today to defer the hunting of sandhill cranes for two years in the state of Tennessee because they wish to see more data on the eastern population's growth and stability.  This is a victory for sandhill cranes and for all of us. It is a decision that puts the species first, and that gives everyone a chance to revisit the important issues--the science behind the Management Plan and the inclusion of all parties in decision-making. For this I am very grateful.

The full Commission decision was preceded by the Wildlife Management Committee meeting on Thursday of this week which allowed for presentations and discussion from both points of view.  The presentations were informative, respectful and thorough, and I cannot say enough about how I appreciated witnessing this part of the process.

Following the presentations, the Wildlife Management Committee held a vote which determined their recommendation to the full Commission. The committee's decision was not made easily. Commissioners varied in their thinking about the issue, however, they came to a consensus and made a decision--we need more data. Following their vote, the committee gave the conservation community a mandate regarding opposing views on the issue of hunting sandhill cranes--"talk to each other, come to a meeting of the minds. We will be at this decision point again in two years and the decision may go the other way."

Of these two issues--science and consensus--science is the issue that needs our immediate attention at this juncture. Kentucky and other states have expressed intent to follow Tennessee in requesting sandhill crane hunting seasons for the eastern population. The question remains, does the Management Plan for the Eastern Population have the science to support the hunting objective that is currently included in the Plan? Many of us would like to see that science revisited; there are many deficiencies in available knowledge about the Eastern Population that are identified within the Plan, itself. Additionally, some kind of equitable representation of opposing views on that level seems warranted, since any state that hunts the Eastern Population impacts the entire population.

I am encouraging individual conservationists and conservation organizations to send their own letters of concern and inquiry to USFWS.

I appreciate the work of USFWS and the Migratory Bird Program, as well as, the flyway counsels and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and its Commission. With the combined efforts of these agencies, private conservation organizations and individual citizens, we can continue to have a positive influence on the welfare of wild species and their habitat.

Yellowfin Madtom--A Heart-Warming Fish Story!

Here's a conservation story that will warm your heart, a story about a minnow-size fish that not only came back from extinction, but now thrives in freshwater streams in the southeast. Not an easy journey to be sure. But this fish had some big help--years of hard work and dedication on the part of two biologists, JR Shute and Pat Rakes.  

A nocturnal species that looks and acts like a miniature catfish, the Yellowfin Madtom has typical catfish spines and whiskers (barbels), and a potent sting if you should come in contact with one of those spines.  But even more impressive, the little fish has personality! The male of the species digs a nest cavity near a rock slab to invite a female to deposit her eggs.  After spawning, the male then spends the next four weeks hiding under that rock slab guarding the nest, even taking the eggs into his mouth from time to time to clean away silt. All of this, without eating any food for himself during the entire period.    

Pat Rakes (left) and JR Shute were interviewed by American Public Media earlier this month.  Click this link to hear them talk about the survival of this little madtom, what went wrong with its world, and how they're trying to help fix it.  (Scroll down the linked page to find the audio controls.)    

Below, JR's video showing the release of Yellowfin Madtoms.  Not only does Conservation Fisheries raise rare and endangered fish in captivity to help save and restock species, their work contributes important information about water quality.  When a native species cannot survive in its fresh water stream, that tells us a lot.  Once the stream is cleaned up enough to support these tiny, native fish again, we know our water is in better shape for everyone.  

                            

In addition to this month's NPR interview, the work of Conservation Fisheries has appeared in National Geographic (April 2010, see link below).  And the Yellowfin Madtom image you see below is the artistic work of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, published here with his permission.  The comeback tale of this small, freshwater fish is one of the many rare species featured in his latest book, Rare, Portraits of America's Endangered Species. 

Listen to Joel's message below.  There is something each of us can do everyday to help our earth and all its species.  

                    
Links and resources:
Located in my home town, Knoxville, TN, visit the fish and staff at Conservation Fisheries, Inc.to see some of the many native fish they are helping.
Also enjoy their feature article in National Geographic--Silent Streams
Visit Joel Sartore Photography to see his latest book and don't miss his delightful video on rare species.
To read about other intriguing survival stories on this blog see the El Segundo Blue butterfly, the endangered Whooping Crane and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

I AND THE BIRD #139 Hosted by "From the Faraway, Nearby"

NBR - National Birding Radio - Most Popular Birding Stories of the Year

For those of you familiar with Timothy Ryan's blog,  From the Faraway, Nearby, it will come as no surprise to you that his theme as host for "I And The Bird" blog carnival #139 contains the same imaginative creativity that is characteristic of his beautiful images and sensitive commentary on travel, people, culture and our natural world.

This edition's theme is a take-off on National Public Radio and, fittingly, begins with an award-winning post from NPR commentator, Julie Zickefoose.  Along with her, you will find "best story awards" presented to some of my all-time blogging favorites and I am honored to find myself among them with the award presented below.

Best in Conservation

Sandhill Crane photo by Charlie Corbell

Greater Sandhill Cranes

An Intimate View of Family Life

"Noted watercolor artist, writer, photographer and outspoken crane conservationist Vickie Henderson was the reader's favorite in Conservation with her in-depth reporting and intimate look at Sandhill crane behavior and her public opposition to Tennessee's proposal to hunt the bird along its fly-away.  Vickie reports that a Sandhill Crane hunt proposal in Tennessee is now in its final stages and inviting public comment.   She offers that if the hunt proposal is passed, Tennessee will be the first state in US history to initiate a hunting season for Sandhill Cranes in the east and reveals that other states are lined up to follow.  Vickie is the author and illustrator of The Craniac Kids - Whooping Crane Activity Book.  She is currently the Featured Bird Blogger of the Week at Birding Blogs.com."

Wild Turkeys--A Happy Ending

When I meet a new bird, I find everything about it curious. I don't mean that I've never seen a Wild Turkey before this. But I hadn't seen one face to face, nor had the luxury of watching them forage at close range, or seen how deliberately they move, raising their heads periodically to scan their environment. (Click images to enlarge.)

The turkey you see above was following-the-leader in a caravan of fourteen. While I was photographing the trailing birds, the leaders had decided to come up the bank right beside me. It was not until I heard the rustling in the leaves, that I realized they were so close, within five feet. I suspect my expression may have matched hers initially...until I giggled and slowly turned the camera in her direction.

There was a time when it was rare to see a Wild Turkey, let alone see a group pass through your yard. Native only to North America, the Wild Turkey was heavily hunted in the 1800's along with Passenger Pigeons and Bob White Quail. The last documented wild Passenger Pigeon was shot on March 12, 1900 (Christopher Cokinos, Hope is the Thing with Feathers, 228). And by the early 20th century, our nation began to realize that heavily hunted species were not rebounding, among them, the Wild Turkey.

(The left side of the sketchbook spread is tan--it's not your eyes!)

Estimated to number ten million in the 1600's, Wild Turkeys numbered only 30,000 by the 1930's. Concern over their decline became instrumental in establishing agencies responsible for hunting regulations (Doug Markham, Boxes Rockets and Pens, A History of Wildlife Recovery in Tennessee, 45).

As a result of more than four decades of restoration efforts, I now have these intriguing new visitors frequenting my yard. And here's a fun tidbit about their feathers, found in Sibley's Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, a book that's rapidly becoming one of my favorites. Turkeys don't grow down feathers. Instead, they have what is termed an after-shaft feather, that is, an extra feather that grows on the same shaft but is smaller. This after-shaft is believed to provide the extra warmth they need for colder weather.

I wonder if it also helps explain how they can puff themselves up so big when disturbed or excited.And if the sound of a barking dog or the slamming of a door doesn't startle them into flight, their departure takes place as silently as their arrival, their tall shapes fading slowly into the woods like shadows.

Next post: Back to the warmer climate of Brevard County, FL, and a fun look at a Limpkin!

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #79, at Birdfreak.com, to promote the conservation of our world's birds.

Bird Banding and Matters of the Heart

I can't conclude my posts about bird banding without showing you one more glimpse of what I found so captivating about this activity. First and foremost, it's about helping our birds, about gathering information that will help us understand changes and give us a sound basis for making conservation decisions. Secondly, it's about people who love birds. About bird lovers who are willing to dedicate their time and energy as volunteers and in this case, spend hours in the field collecting data while at the same time, remaining mindful of the care and protection of the birds that provide that data.

And that brings me to the third aspect, an aspect that is purely a matter of the heart, one that feeds that love and energizes all that hard work. It's those intimate moments of stillness with a bird, absorbing its beauty and attitude.

Meet a juvenile White-eyed vireo, above and below.

"What white eyes?" you might ask. Well, the ones shining through those young brown ones. The same ones that are asking with attitude, "just what the heck is this interruption in my day about?"

And with her mouth open, you can also see this juvenile's yellow gape and a bit of her fiesty vireo attitude. Attitude is as much a part of bird recognition as the color and shape we find in our field guides, though in smaller birds we see it more seldom. For me its the fun part, the purely captivating part that settles into my heart when I meet a bird.

White-eyed vireos were new for me this year. And this juvenile, in particular, was alert, checked everybody out and had a comment or two. When she happily flew away to resume her bird life, she left an impression that I will forever connect to White-eyed vireos.

Now meet an Ovenbird, a bird that radiates a gentle sweetness and one we don't often expect to find in a valley meadow.

Observant and calm while receiving his/her band (the sexes look the same), she's a secretive warbler that builds an oven-shaped nest on the forest floor. A striking bird with olive plumage set off by an eye-ring, white breast streaked with brown and two dark head stripes divided by a splash of orange, one can see how this plumage also serves to protect, blending into the forest environment.

Add to this, pink legs and feet, and you have the details that make up the unique and subtle beauty of Ovenbirds.

As one who loves, sketches and paints birds, this was, of course, my favorite aspect of bird banding, the upclose details, the amazing beauty and array of colors in the plumage, the perfect way shape, color and attitude come together to make each bird uniquely suited for its habitat and lifestyle. When you really stop to consider all this variety and perfection, it is breath taking
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I did try my hand at recording data and watched intently while birds were extracted from the net, but there is a considerable learning curve here and I've barely begun the climb. Still, the opportunity for learning even more and having intimate interaction with birds, combined with the vital contribution this activity makes to their continued health and survival, makes for a compelling combination. And as I learned many years ago with Golden eagles and Whooping cranes, for me, birds are a matter of the heart. And when your heart takes the lead, anything can happen
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To see my entire series on bird banding, click here. Scroll to the bottom to find the first post.
Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #50, at Birdfreak.com, to raise awareness of the conservation of our world's birds.

Children are the Future of Our Planet!

Whooping cranes have been the inspiration for my art and conservation efforts for the past ten years.

I'm not alone in this passion. Lots of peoples' hearts have been captured by the come-back story of a big white bird that was on the brink of extinction in the 1940's and still faces many obstacles to survival in both eastern and central North America.

If taking care of endangered species on our planet touches your heart and ignites your passion, then you've got to see this video created by the imaginative teachers at Barrett Elementary School in Arlington, VA.

Laurie Sullivan, Kindergarden Project Discovery teacher at the school, contacted me in September of 2008 and asked if she could use some of my art and photography to help with her school's kindergardner's Whooping crane study project. What an honor! Of course I said, yes. Recently she sent me an update with a link to her website and this awesome video. Be prepared to laugh, feel in awe and maybe even shed a tear for the hope of our planet's future. This is where love for our Earth and its wildlife begins!

Visit the website, "Kindergardener's Journey with Whooping Cranes" to see more of what these creative teachers and children did to learn about Whooping cranes. You'll find endearing fun and inspiration that will surely touch the kid in you!

The Whooping Crane’s Imposing Will

“When you sit crouched in a blind and watch an adult Whooper stride close by you, his head high and proud, his bearing arrogant and imposing, you feel the presence of a strength and of a stubborn will to survive that is one of the vital intangibles of this entire situation.” These are the words of biologist, Robert Allen, in his Audubon monograph, The Whooping Crane, September 30, 1950, when this species population numbered less than 20. While working on a children’s book project about whooping cranes, I have turned to this monograph from time to time for information. As I did so recently, I stumbled across this account:

On May 21, 1876, George B. Sennett, the inveterate collector from Erie, Pennsylvania, was hunting at Elbow Lake, Grant County Minnesota. On the previous day his companion had killed two Whooping cranes nearby and Sennett was determined to secure a specimen. He located a pair at their nest, which was built on top of a muskrat house in a burnt slough, with only short grass clumps for cover. As he approached to a point close to the nest the birds left, and Sennett concealed himself as best he could, piling grass over himself as he lay prone behind a clump.

“Fully half an hour went by and I began to cramp and feel uneasy and was on the point of changing my position at the risk of losing my covering by the wind, when one noble fellow flew over the slough and lit on the opposite side from me about two shots off. Cautiously he began to survey the situation and shortly his mate came swooping down to his side. They kept their eyes well on my bunch of grass and remained at a safe distance, yet I could see they knew their eggs were safe. Some fifteen minutes of strutting back and forth when she boldly walked out into the water, some eight or ten inches deep, directly toward me, mounted the rat house and sat down on her two eggs, some twenty-five yards from me in plain sight. I could see her wink her eyes watching me and her mate constantly. Her eyes gleamed like fire. How anxious and how handsome, was ever a sight so grand….The male stood on the ridge watching her closely for a few minutes. When feeling all was safe he calmly commenced to plume himself in grand style and shortly walked off away from me the proudest of birds….I slowly arose, turned and gave her one barrel as she was rising from the nest and the next before she had gone six feet and dropped her in the water….” (Deane, 1923).

Your reaction, I'm sure, was much the same as mine. While the introduction explains that we're reading a hunting account, the conclusion is none-the-less stunning.

Beyond reflexive recoil there is the following harsh reality: with one fallen female, a breeding pair is destroyed and a season of off-spring lost. It will take six years to replace this nesting female if all goes well-- one year to reach the next breeding season, five more for a female chick to reach breeding maturity. Unforeseen circumstances could delay breeding success even further.

By the early 1940's the entire population of whooping cranes was nearly lost, not just from hunting and collecting, but largely due to the draining of wetlands and the encroachment of settlement.

The above account took place 132 years ago. When you consider the causes of this bird's decline and our progress toward correcting them, do you sometimes wonder what will be said of us in as many years?