WWT Slimbridge given fresh hope with wild crane chick

A recently-hatched crane chick has given conservationists fresh hope about seeing a new generation of wild cranes in the west of Britain. (BBC News).

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-27466509

Live camera watches crane eggs

An attempt by a pair of cranes to raise the first wild-hatched crane in western Britain in 400 years is being filmed on a webcam. (BBC News).

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-27234922

What do whooping cranes do in winter?

Of only fifteen species of cranes in the world, just two species occur in the western hemisphere: the sandhill crane, which is the most numerous, and the whooping crane, the rarest. Why have the two North American species experienced such different recent fates? By Elizabeth H. Smith (Prairie Fire Newspaper).

http://www.prairiefirenewspaper.com/2014/04/what-do-whooping-cranes-do-in-the-winter

Six member panel set up for crane conservation

After a task force to monitor the critically endangered Great Indian Bustards (GIBs), the state government has now set up an six-member expert committee for conservation of sarus cranes in Gondia district.  By Vijay Pinjarker (Economic Times/Times of India).

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/six-member-panel-set-up-for-cranes-conservation/articleshow/34177217.cms
 

Nature group cries foul as Alberta considers sandhill crane hunt

The Alberta government is looking at allowing people to hunt sandhill cranes after years of lobbying by hunters.  By Jim Cotter (Calgary Herald).

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Nature+group+cries+foul+Alberta+considers+sandhill+crane/9771916/story.html

Historic Easter egg laid at Slimbridge

A pair of Common Cranes has nested at Slimbridge Wetland Centre WWT, Gloucestershire, as part of the Great Crane Project reintroduction scheme. (Birdwatch).

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?cate=__15351

Rare whooping crane appears near Lake Okeechobee

Whooping crane No. 1441, one of the last surviving cranes in a failed effort to re-establish a Florida flock of the nearly extinct birds, made a rare appearance this spring. By Janet Staletovitch (Miami Herald).

http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/04/11/4054376/rare-whooping-crane-appears-near.html

Endangered whooping cranes nesting again in south Louisiana

It’s been 75 years since a whooping crane egg was documented in the state, and the birds had disappeared from the Louisiana landscape by 1950, the victim of habitat loss and hunting. By Richard Burgess (The Advocate).

http://theadvocate.com/news/8914061-123/whooping-cranes-eggs-found-scientists

Sandhill crane nest moved from Florida intersection

As the sun set on Melbourne on Monday evening, a sandhill crane sat in the grass beside a pond, her mate standing a one-legged guard at her side.  But the bird's efforts to incubate the nest there may be futile. It was moved over the weekend. By Stacey Barchenger (Florida Today).

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/04/14/sandhill-crane-nest-moved-from-melbourne-intersection/7721127/

A modern day wonder in the Sea of Gallilee, Israel’s hot spot for migratory birds

The Sea of Gallilee, where Christ reputedly walked on water, is today home to another miracle of sorts.  It is where hundreds of millions of birds migrate across Israel and a paradise for bird watchers.  By Nic Robertson (CNN).

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/09/travel/israel-bird-migrations-sea-galilee/index.html

Dance of the Demoiselle Crane

Once every year Khichan, a dusty village in Rajasthan, turns into a diner for the long-necked birds from Mongolia and Eurasia. By Sanjay AustaSanjay Austa (Mumbai Mirror).

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/others/leisure/Dance-of-the-demoiselle-crane/articleshow/33671183.cms

 

Mother crane attacks cars driving near nest in Florida

Drivers in Brevard County have reported a nesting sandhill crane causing problems in Melbourne, pecking at their cars as they drive past the mother's eggs. By Greg Pallone,(Bay News 9).

http://baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/4/9/nesting_crane_brevar.html

Slideshow: Desert storm in a perfect “V"

In the hostile Thar, villagers build an ecosystem for their migratory visitors, the demoiselle crane.I (Live Mint and The Wall Street Journal)

http://www.livemint.com/Multimedia/5345bSw0zVV7dssFROa66K/Slideshow--Desert-storm-in-a-perfect-V.html

Call of the wild: Siberian cranes fly over Wana only to become fair game

Wana Valley is really busy this time of year. It’s crane season and people from all over the country are flocking over to get their hands on the Siberian migratory birds.  By Zulfigar Ali (The Express Tribune).

http://tribune.com.pk/story/685668/call-of-the-wild-siberian-cranes-fly-over-wana-only-to-become-fair-game/

Red-crowned cranes at Zhalong Nature Reserve

The reserve serves as a stopover and nesting area for a large number of storks, swans, herons, grebes and other species. Its ponds and reeds make it an ideal home for over 300 different species of birds, including six kinds of cranes, especially red-crowned cranes. (China.org.cn)

http://www.china.org.cn/travel/2014-03/11/content_31745851.htm

March Brings Cranes Back to Nebraska

While the robin is the traditional sign of spring in many places, in Nebraska people know the season is near when more than a half million large sandhill cranes land on the plains and roost on the Platte River while making their migratory journey north. - By Sandy Fitzgerald

http://www.newsmax.com/US/cranes-Nebraska-birds/2014/03/07/id/556659

Of Drones and Cranes: UAV Technology Aids California Bird Conservation

Counting Sandhill Cranes can be a real challenge. How do you estimate the number of birds that gather by the thousands each evening? A new technology has great potential to help. - Matt Merrifield and Rodd Kelsey

http://blog.nature.org/science/2014/03/06/drones-uav-sandhill-cranes-california-wetlands/

500,000 Cranes Are Headed for Nebraska in One of Earth’s Greatest Migrations

Nature got it right with the cranes. They have been around since the Eocene, which ended 34 million years ago. By Alex Shoumatoff (Smithsonian Magazine).

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/500000-cranes-are-headed-nebraska-one-earths-greatest-migrations-180949816/

Whooping crane dies of shooting injury

A whooping crane that initially survived a gunshot wound earlier this month was euthanized Wednesday after his condition worsened beyond recovery, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

http://theadvocate.com/home/8422880-125/whooping-crane-dies-of-shooting

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Hit by Vehicle, Separated From Mate

After her mate was hit by a vehicle, a Mississippi sandhill crane stood by, watching helplessly as another pair of cranes attacked her long-term partner. By Lauren Walck (Sun Herald).

http://www.sunherald.com/2014/02/11/5331363/mississippi-sandhill-crane-hit.html

Decline in Sarus Cranes Worries Bird Watchers

On a day when many in the country are celebrating Big Bird Day (Sunday), bird watchers in Bhopal are worried about rapid decline in population of Sarus crane. By Pallavi Nair (The Times of India).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/decline-in-sarus-crane-population-leaves-bird-watches-worried-on-big-bird-day/articleshow/30490592.cms

Migratory Birds Going Hungry After Bird Flu Outbreak

50 migratory birds were gathered near the swamp. Once the reporters approached, they flew off. Approximately 20,000-30,000 migratory birds, included bean goose, spot-billed duck and rare white-naped crane, come to Janghang swamp every year. By Bang Jun-ho (The Hankyoreh).

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/623575.html

Wattled Crane Population Takes Flight

South Africans had a special reason to celebrate World Wetlands Day at the weekend – the critically endangered Wattled Crane population has finally stabilized, and numbers of this specialist wetland bird even increased slightly in KwaZulu-Natal. By John Yeld (Daily News).

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/population-takes-flight-1.1641985#.UvpUo7Eo7ct

The Red-crowned Crane (documentary)

This 50 minute documentary looks at the lives of the endangered red-crowned cranes at two nature reserves in China, plus the difficulties the cranes face as they grow up, and the crisis facing the species.  (SBS On Demand).

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/121632835645/The-Red-Crowned-Crane

Watch half a billion birds find peace in the Middle East

It's chilly and still dim at 6 a.m. when Haggai Hochman, a Galilean farmer, slides into his tractor and sets out on his dusty course. Thirty-two thousand cranes flap and flutter, parting to let him through. The blades turn, and kernels start to pop out of the spreader. By Noga Tarnopolsky (Global Post).

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/140207/hula-valley-birds-noga

2 Endangered Whooping Cranes Shot in Louisiana

Someone shot a pair of endangered whooping cranes that had been building practice nests in southwest Louisiana, killing the female and seriously injuring the male, state wildlife officials said Friday. (CBS News, The Associated Press)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2-endangered-whooping-cranes-shot-in-louisiana/

Non-profit Starts its Own Count of Whoopers

Researchers with the International Crane Foundation say the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's survey of whooping cranes is missing valuable information and have started their own count of the endangered birds. By Sara Sneath (Victoria Advocate).

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/dec/28/whoopers_update_ss_122913_227458/?news

Authorities Searching for Whooping Crane Killers

The reward being offered to anyone with information that directly leads to an arrest or a criminal conviction of those responsible for shooting the whooping crane or cranes in Kentucky has now grown to $15,250. (Surf Kentucky News Group).

http://surfky.com/index.php/obituaries/local/lexington/44001-authorities-searching-for-whooping-crane-killers

Film on Sandhill Cranes Packs a Message

Spend a morning on the banks of the Platte River, watching as hundreds of sandhill cranes tilt their wings in unison to prep for the next leg of the migration, and you'll begin to feel chills, Dave Titterington says. By Faiz Siddiqui (World-Herald Bureau).

http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140123/GO/140129461/1707

Rare bird at risk as farms encroach

Less than 2,000 members of the Indochinese subspecies are left in Cambodia, extreme southern Laos, Myanmar and southern Viet Nam. - Source: VNS

Rare bird at risk as farms approach

The decline of the Sarus crane, the tallest flying bird in the world, is causing concern for conservationists. By Nguoi Lao dong (Vietnam News).

http://vietnamnews.vn/environment/250383/rare-bird-at-risk-as-farms-encroach.html

John Buxton, MBE: Conservationist’s key role in the return of cranes to Norfolk

The naturalist and farmer played a vital role in the return of breeding common cranes to Norfolk, lost to the county for about 400 years. By Michael Pollit (Eastern Daily Press). http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/obituaries/john_buxton_mbe_countryman_and_conservationist_s_key_role_in_the_return_of_cranes_to_norfolk_after_400_years_1_3226251

Kentucky offers reward for clues into crane killings

Kentucky is offering a $7,200 reward to anyone who can lead authorities to the person or people responsible for shooting two endangered whooping cranes that arrived in the state this winter. -By Tim Ghianni, Reuters

http://bit.ly/KxR8xH

Endangered bird dies while being treated at San Antonio Zoo

An injured whooping crane captured by biologists last month died this week at the San Antonio Zoo, where it was being treated after losing a leg.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Endangered-bird-dies-while-being-treated-at-San-5152882.php

Reward Offered for Two Whooping Cranes Illegally Shot in Western Kentucky

Two endangered whooping cranes mated fore life have been found dead in Western Kentucky, the likely victims of an illegal shooter-and officials are offering a reward to catch the perpetrator. By James Bruggers (The Courier-Journal).

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140114/NEWS01/301140085/1001/Reward-offered-whooping-cranes-illegally-shot-Western-Kentucky

Ten Whooping Cranes Released Into Wild in Southern Louisiana

Ten young whooping cranes have been released into the wild after spending nearly a month at White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in south Louisiana. By Janet Mcconnaughey (Sun Herald).

http://www.sunherald.com/2014/01/04/5233907/ten-whooping-cranes-released-into.html

Sandhill Cranes Return With More Family-Life Lessons

Last April, when the lone offspring of the sandhill cranes that nested on our lake was eight days old, the entire family left to make a new home on acreage that abutted our own. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. By Sherry Boas (Orlando Sentinel).

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2014-01-05/news/os-lk-sherry-boas-01062014-20140105_1_baby-crane-cranes-return-lead-crane

Forest Department to Launch Campaign for Conservation of Sarus Crane

The state forest department is making preparations to organise activities like debate, seminars, spot visits, film shows on the conservation of state bird Sarus crane- (grus antigone) within the periphery of wetlands and water-bodies ahead of World Wetland Day on February 2. By Faiz Rahman Siddiqui (The Times of India).

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-10/kanpur/46065682_1_sarus-crane-indian-sarus-grus-antigone

Endangered Whooping Cranes Make It To Florida Following Ultralights

Eight young whooping cranes that began their aircraft-led migration on Oct. 2, from Wisconsin, made it to Florida, their last layover before reaching their new winter home at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. (The Chatanoogan).

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/12/31/266491/Endangered-Whooping-Cranes-Make-It-To.aspx

Behind the Scenes at a Refuge for Earth's Rare Species

On a recent November afternoon, a white-naped crane named Walnut squawks loudly, then juts her long neck back and forth, mimicking the movement of an animal keeper nearby. By Emily Shenk (National Geographic).

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131218-smithsonian-conservation-biology-institute-endangered-animals/