Posted on Fri, Nov. 06, 2009

e-mail	print	RSS	reprint
AIM	Digg it	del.icio.us	Facebook

Whooping cranes make their autumn stop in Kan.

BY BECCY TANNER

The Wichita Eagle

Whooping cranes, North America's biggest shorebirds, have arrived at Cheyenne Bottoms and the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

The endangered 5-foot-tall white birds come through Kansas as they migrate 2,500 miles from their summer nesting grounds in northern Canada to Texas' Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf of Mexico.

Cheyenne Bottoms near Great Bend and Hoisington reported 18 whoopers Thursday morning; Quivira, near St. John and Stafford, reported 14.

To protect the birds, the Quivira Refuge has been closed to hunting until further notice. At Cheyenne Bottoms, hunting is prohibited on pools the birds are using.

"Pool 1 at Cheyenne Bottoms, where the whoopers were spotted, is on the refuge area and thus closed to hunting, anyway," said Curtis Wolf, manager of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center. "If they are spotted in a different pool, all hunting will be closed in that pool."

Hunting is not allowed when the whooping cranes are present because they are an endangered species.

The bird has been federally protected since 1918. In 1942, only 14 existed. Now there are 536 birds, although one-third are in captivity.

This past year was particularly harsh for whooping cranes, the worst in more than two decades. Twenty-three of the wild birds starved last winter in drought conditions in Aransas. Only 22 chicks fledged from 62 nests this summer, according to a posting from Tom Stehn of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Signs are posted at all entrances of Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira to notify hunters whooping cranes are in the area.

Sunrise and sunset are the best times to see and hear the whooping cranes. Their movements and locations can change quickly.

The weather will determine how long the birds stay at the Kansas wetlands. Brisk, warm winds from the south may cause them to linger, Wolf said.

People who see the birds are asked to remain at a distance and keep noise and movements to a minimum, Wolf said.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.CommentBody@

@Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@