# Migrating whooping cranes photographed in ND this October



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index. ... n=outdoors

There are an estimated 320 whooping cranes in the world. Chester Nelson Jr. of Bismarck spotted two of the birds earlier this month.

And he has the pictures to prove it.

"Incredible photos," said Tom Stehn, the national whooping crane coordinator in Texas. *"They are the best photos I have ever seen of whooping cranes during migration."*

The 67-year-old Nelson was duck hunting Oct. 1 on land he has hunted since 1951. In the rolling Coteau Hills 14 miles southwest of Kenmare, N.D., Nelson spotted the cranes feeding in a durham field.

[siteimg]5284[/siteimg]

He had seen two whooping cranes 30 years ago in the same area. But none this close - about 80 yards away.

Sitting in his six-wheel drive Polaris Ranger utility vehicle, Nelson pulled out his Nikon D-200 digital camera. He quickly began adjusting his 400 millimeter Nikon zoom lens.

"I'm just curious how he got those pictures," Stehn asked. "Whooping cranes during migration are extremely spooky. You usually can't get too close to them at all."

Nelson figures the cranes weren't as afraid of vehicles as they would have been of a person walking around. With Nelson spotting the cranes in the field three days earlier, Stehn figures the two cranes were getting more comfortable with the area.

"After being in the same area a day or two, they don't get as spooky," Stehn said.

Nelson snapped numerous photos of the cranes standing in the field. He then followed the birds as they flew away, with a flock of grouse fluttering below.

[siteimg]5285[/siteimg]

"It's amazing how automatic focus will follow those birds," Nelson said. "This certainly seems to be one of my lifetime photos."

Nelson has snapped a lot of photos, ever since he was a 10-year-old who took his allowance money to the Kenmare drugstore to purchase a Kodak Pony camera.

Over the years, he has displayed his wildlife photos in shows at Schafer Center in Medora, N.D., Bismarck State College and his alma mater, the University of North Dakota.

He'll never forget snapping a photo of a coyote and badger facing each other. But he admits, the whooping cranes rank right up there.

That's because whooping cranes are rare.

Officials estimate there were more than 10,000 whooping cranes hundreds of years ago. By the late 1800s, there were 1,500. The world population dipped to 15 birds in 1941, according to Stehn.

But the birds on the endangered species list are making a slow comeback, increasing 4.6 percent annually. Stehn is hoping to see 230 cranes migrate to his Aransas National Wildlife Refuge located on the east coast of Texas, north of Corpus Christi.

"A record number of chicks hatched in Canada," Stehn said.

Most of the world's whooping cranes arrive in late April to their breeding area in Wood Buffalo National Park, which extends into northeast Alberta from the Northwest Territories. By the end of September, the cranes leave for the 2,500-mile flight south to Aransas.

Waiting for strong weather fronts to push them south, the cranes can fly as fast as 60 miles per hour. They have been known to go from North Dakota to Texas in four days.

"It's just amazing," said Stehn, who expected the first cranes to arrive at Aransas last week.

Cranes will spread out over a 35-mile area at Aransas. With decent rains this summer, the cranes are expected to have a good winter feasting on their high-protein diet of blue crab.

That bodes well for the future of the whooping cranes. A target number of 1,000 would take the cranes off the endangered species and onto the threatened list.

"That number seems so far away right now that we have never really sat down and came up with a number to get them off the endangered list," Stehn said.

Nonetheless, whooping crane sightings are becoming more common. Mike Szymanski of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department says there are nearly a dozen sightings a year now.

"But it's still fairly rare to get confirmed sightings," Szymanski said. "That's why these photos are special."

"They are great birds," Stehn said. "Those photos just show them in their magnificence."

So what does Nelson prefer - hunting birds and taking pictures of them?

"Each one has its season," Nelson said. "But obviously on this day, I would substitute photography for hunting."

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*WOW!  Congrats to Mr. Nelson! Awesome photos!

Hopefully some day we are all this lucky to see a wild Whooper flying thru ND in the fall...

Ryan
*

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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Great photo's. Wife and I saw 4 of them in Sept. tried to get photo's too, dang camera had slid across the back seat out of reach. By the time I got to the camera they were circling way too high to get recognizable pic's.  Still really cool to see them. This was the second time I had seen Whoopers, my wife's first. Magnificent birds.

huntin1


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

What is the best digitial SLR camera to get for taking pictures like these? If you could have your choice of any camera, what make/model would it be?

I'll likely go ask the same question on the Photo forum, but first wanted to use these pics as are reference..

I think this article says he's using a Nikon?

Ryan


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## dogdigger (Jan 26, 2004)

can you hunt those?

mark


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

Sure...if you don't mind facing Federal jail time. :lol:

*NO!!!*


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## shae1986 (Sep 28, 2006)

Ryan, 
If you want a real good Digital SLR i would get a Nikon Rebel. Lots of poeple love them and i would get one myself but the $800 price tag kinda gets me.


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## HonkerExpress (Sep 23, 2005)

You might not be able to hunt them, but man do they taste good, YUMMM. lmao. :beer:


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

dogdigger said:


> can you hunt those?
> 
> mark


Mark

Like Nick said definitely NO! They are one of the most endangered animals in the world, and ND is lucky enough to be on their migration route each fall as they travel from Wood Buffalo Ntl Park up near the Arctic circle, all the way down to Aransas Ntl. Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

Recovery of the species began in 1937 with the establishment of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge assured the protection of the wintering habitat. The breeding grounds of the Whooping Crane were not discovered until 1954, but Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922. This coincidence most certainly saved the Whooping Crane from extinction.

In 1967, efforts began to establish a captive flock of Whooping Cranes. The establishment of a captive breeding program breeds the additional cranes necessary for reintroduction into the wild and saves the species from extinction. Three captive breeding populations are currently established. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland is currently home to 47 cranes. The International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin has 30. The newest facility is located at the Calgary Zoo and is currently home to 21 Whooping Cranes.

In 1975, there were attempts to establish additional wild populations of Whooping Cranes. Scientists removed one of the two eggs from the nests in Wood Buffalo National Park. The eggs were then placed in Sandhill Crane nests at Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho. The Sandhills acted as foster parents to the young Whoopers and raised them as their own. By 1985, there were 33 Whooping Cranes that made the fall migration from Idaho to New Mexico. The recovery effort appeared to be successful until the Whooping Cranes reached breeding age. Studies indicated that the Whooping Cranes raised by Sandhill Cranes failed to find a partner and breeding never took place. In February of 2000 only three Whooping Cranes remained with the flock.

In 1993, a non-migratory population was established in Kissimmee Prairie, Florida. A group of 14 Whooping Cranes was hatched and released in January of 1993. Since then, 175 captive-bred Whooping Cranes have been released and today the population consists of approximately 80 individuals. Most of the deaths were a result of predation from alligators and bobcats. The oldest birds are just now at breeding age. The cranes are nesting and in March of 2000 the first chick hatched.

Currently, recovery goals are to maintain a minimum of 40 breeding pairs of Whooping Cranes in Wood Buffalo National Park. The ultimate goal is to have the population exceed 1,000 individuals and improve the bird's status from endangered to threatened. Plans are underway to establish two separate populations with a minimum of 25 breeding pairs each. The first population is already established in Kissimmee, Florida, and the other population is proposed to summer in Wisconsin and migrate to Florida for the winter. These actions would ensure long term survival of the species.

The recovery of the Whooping Crane has been moderately successful considering today's population came from just 16 individuals in 1942. The recovery is far from over and protection and management of this species must continue to reach the desired population of Whooping Cranes.

You can read a ton of good info at the following sites:

http://www.savingcranes.org/species/whooping.cfm

http://www.operationmigration.org/

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/whoopingcrane/

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/WesslingOM.html

Cheers

Ryan


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## TuJays (Oct 30, 2006)

Great info Ryan!
When I took Ornithology class in 1983 working on my Biology BS my dream was to see a Whooping Crane. I finialy did in the Dakota's several years ago while on a hunting trip.
My "Birds of North America" book I used in college list the population in 1981 at 78 birds.
John M


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## dogdigger (Jan 26, 2004)

oops sorry guys i was jsut kidding  i forgot about the thread.

mark


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Ryan,

Nikon is good, love their Buckmaster scopes. But in photo equipment I like the Olympus point & shoots like the C740-UZ or the SP500-UZ, both of which I have. I am currently saving $$ so that I can but a digital SLR, this will be a Canon as I have owned several 35mm slr's, all Canons and have been very happy. In all honesty though, Nikon and Canon will do the same thing, if you want really good wildlife photos you will need to spend money on GOOD telephoto lenses.

:beer:

huntin1


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## Ithaca1 (Nov 24, 2003)

I saw 5 different whoopers last year 3 different sightings. The year before I seen 3.


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