Huanzidong Reservoir, Liaoning Province

Earlier this week we received some exciting news - a Chinese photographer saw Bai He on March 27th at Huanzidong Reservior in Liaoning Province, China! A week earlier (March 20) we received a location coordinate placing Bai Hai near the reservoir, so it was great news to receive confirmation of the young crane's location. Our most recent location, received April 2, shows that Bai He has remained in this area, which is an important rest stop for Siberian Cranes during their long migrations. Last fall, Bai He also stopped for several days near the reservoir (see our postings from November 2008 for more information on Huanzidong Reservoir and Bai He's fall migration).


In the above image, Bai He (left) is landing near the edge of a wetland with a second Siberian Crane. This is the first known picture of Bai He since he was banded in Yakutia, Russia in August 2008. In the below image, you can see the antenna for Bai He's transmitter on his left leg (the transmitter is attached to a plastic band with the number 00 engraved on the side) and a small metal band on his right leg.


We thank Zhu Ying for permission to post his beautiful image and Wang Ximin for sharing this news.

Siberian Crane Spring Migration Update

This week we received new location data from the Siberian Crane, Bai He, that we are tracking in eastern China. We last received data from Bai He's transmitter on March 5 from the wintering grounds in the Poyang Lake Basin. On March 17 we received new data placing Bai He in eastern China in Hebei Province, approximately 1300 km (808 miles) from the previous location! We believe that Bai He began migration sometime between the 3rd and 17th (due to signal interference in eastern China, we are uncertain when Bai He left the wintering area). We are hopeful that we will continue to receive periodic signals from Bai He's transmitter, so that we can continue to follow his northern migration.

Meanwhile, in late February Neya, the Siberian Crane that was released this winter in northern Iran, moved approximately 240 km (149 miles) northwest from her wintering site. Unfortunately, we have not received any new location data from her transmitter since March 1, 2009.

Click on the image to the right to view an updated map of the spring migration.

Artwork Connects Us All

Art is an important communications and education tool for the Three White Cranes project, as we strive to share information and experiences between three different languages and cultures. Recently we've received news about two art projects completed by Three White Cranes schools in the United States and China:

Each year Jan Weiler's third grade class at Golda Meir School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin learn about cranes through classroom activities, art projects and a class field trip to the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Jan recently emailed us images of her top three "craniacs" - students whose crane artwork were chosen as best in the class (the students and their artwork are pictured below). Thank you, Jan, for sharing this news, and congratulations to your student winners! Photos by Jan Weiler

We also would like to celebrate the students in the Xianghai Middle School art club in northeastern China. The students painted a new mural this fall in their village (click here to read about the first mural that the students painted last summer). The mural is entitled, "Build our home, hand in hand," and shows the Xianghai village past, present and future. ICF is sponsoring a video about this project, focusing on how the Xianghai students are learning about their environment and its problems, and how they are taking action through art and example to bring solutions to their community. We look forward to the student's next project and thank the Xianghai art club for sharing their inspiring story! Photos by Shi Yanqiu

Spring is in the Air

As we wait for the last snow to melt in the north, and the buds to open on trees and shrubs further south in the United States, we are also preparing for the northern spring migrations of wildlife throughout the world. Birds in the south are preparing for their northern flights and are gaining extra fat to fuel their spring migrations, including cranes in North America, Europe and Asia.

Last fall, we tracked two young Siberian Cranes as they completed their first migration from Yakutia, Russia to their wintering area in the Poyang Lake Basin in China. We tracked both cranes over 3,000 miles as they journeyed south (see the migration map below) and have monitored their movements through the winter months. We've stopped receiving location data from one of the cranes (No. 59948), but we are still receiving periodic signals from the second crane, Bai He (formerly No. 59947).

We hope we can track Bai He as he begins his northern migration in a few weeks, to learn where young Siberian Cranes along the East Asia flyway spend their first summer away from their parents (researchers believe these cranes may spend their first summer in a different location from breeding adults).

We are also excited to be tracking a new Siberian Crane along the species' western flyway this spring. The crane, Neya, was raised in captivity at Oka Crane Breeding Center in western Russia and released on the western population's wintering grounds in northern Iran in December 2008. Neya has paired with a male Siberian Crane that returned to the wintering grounds in fall 2008 (see image below - Neya is on the left). We are hopeful that the two cranes will migrate together, so that we can learn where the cranes summer. The male Siberian Crane is the only confirmed remaining wild crane in the western population, so this migration is very special. There are unconfirmed reports of other Siberian Cranes along the western flyway, but we are not certain where they spend the summer.

We hope that you will join us in the coming weeks as we track the Siberian Crane spring migrations in Asia!