Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World

Three White Cranes Exhibit Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:07:00 +0000

We wanted to follow up our last blog posting on the Three White Cranes art exhibit with a few images from the exhibit opening last month. We hope that you can join us at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) this summer or fall to view the exhibit first hand (and for those of you that cannot make it to ICF, we hope you enjoy these images and consider hosting the exhibit at your school or city - see our previous posting on how to involve your school in this activity).

Three White Cranes Exhibit Opens at ICF

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Are you looking for something fun to do this summer? Starting next week the "Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World" art and education exhibit will open at the International Crane Foundation's headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The exhibit highlights the achievements of the Three White Cranes project and includes artwork created by students in the United States, China and Russia, along with information on our project activities, education resources developed through the project, and a video focusing on the Xianghai Middle School Nature Art Club (click here to learn more about the Xianghai Middle School). The exhibit will open on June 20, 2009 and will show at ICF through October 31, 2009.

The ICF Conservation Education Department is preparing a traveling version of the exhibit to show at project schools and other public locations this fall. Please contact Joan Garland, ICF's Outreach Coordinator, for more information and how you can involve your school.

Bai He Returns to Yakutia, Russia

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Earlier this week we received news that Bai He had arrived in Yakutia, Russia! The new location placed the young Siberian Crane to the northeast of Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia, approximately 1,400 miles northeast of his last known location at Momoge National Nature Reserve in northeastern China.

Just yesterday we received a new coordinate that places him approximately 400 miles to the north (less than 100 miles from the East Siberian Sea - that is far north!). His current location is near where he was captured and banded in northern Yakutia (where his parents nested) in August 2008. Click on the image below to view a larger version on the map.

We have followed Bai He for nine months as he has journeyed nearly 6,000 miles between his summering and wintering areas. We hope to continue receiving signals from his satellite transmitter over the next few months, so we can follow his movements during his first summer away from his parents. We thank you for joining us on this exciting journey!

Spring Migration Update: Jilin Province

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Our last update on Bai He, the banded Siberian Crane that we are tracking north this spring, placed the young crane in Liaoning Province in northeastern China. Just yesterday we were excited to receive a location coordinate from Jilin Province, over 200 miles to the north (click here to view the migration map)! The location is within the Momoge National Nature Reserve, another important "rest stop" for Siberian Cranes along their East Asia flyway. Last spring, over 2,000 Siberian Cranes were observed at the reserve, and Bai He stopped in this area for several days last fall as he migrated south. Next stop - Russia!

Siberian Cranes at Momoge National Nature Reserve
in spring 2008. Photos by Ren Qing.

Three White Cranes Schools Celebrate Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:49:00 +0000

How did you celebrate Earth Day this year? Last week we asked our Three White Cranes schools to share how they celebrated Earth Day, and we were delighted to receive responses from schools along both project flyways in the United States and East Asia. We thank Ms. Robinson from Kennedy Montessori and Tim Allen and Dr. Lee Carroll from Access International Academy Ningbo for submitting their inspiring stories and photos!

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Kennedy Montessori School in Louisville, Kentucky celebrated Earth Day by having a "Save It Don't Waste It" fair. The event included booths and recycling games created by the students describing solid waste issues, solid waste solutions, and the results of the dumpster diving.

The booths at the fair included "The Truth about Solid Waste" (above), "Objects from Recycled Materials," "Too Much Trash," "Plastic Pollution," "Signing of Petitions for a Bottle Bill," "Worm Composting," and a game to decide what can or cannot be recycled. The students ended the day by the whole school saying a pledge to the Earth.

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The staff, students, and parents at Access International Academy Ningbo located in Zhejiang Province in eastern China took part in fun Earth Day activities on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 to raise awareness of eco-friendly careers, preservation of our planet’s resources, and keeping our world beautiful. One of the events was a fund-raising walk-a-thon to raise money for TrackingCranes.org. The students collected pledges and then walked for an hour along the riverfront at the beautiful Li Ren garden community in Beilun District, Ningbo. In all, over RMB 1000 (nearly $150.00) was raised for the TrackingCranes.org group. We are happy to share with you some photos from our day’s events.

Russian Nature Reserves Celebrate 10 Year Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Last fall, Masha Vladimirtseva, Three White Cranes educator and researcher, sent us two updates from northeastern Russia as the Siberian Cranes migrated through this area (see our posting on Crane Days in Southern Yakutia and earlier postings from October 2008). A few weeks ago Masha passed on the news that two of the reserves that protect wetlands along the Siberian Crane flyway in southern Yakutia, Chabda and Kuoluma-Chappanda Republic Resource Reserves, are celebrating their ten year anniversaries in early May 2009.

As Bai He, our banded Siberian Crane, continues his northern migration, he may be migrating through Chabda and Kuoluma-Chappanda Reserves with other Siberian Cranes. Our last location from Bai He was received on April 8, 2009 in northeastern China. We received two poor quality signals from his transmitter last week, but we are optimistic that we will receive further location coordinates as he continues to move north.

To learn more about the Chabda and Kuoluma Chappanda Reserves, read Masha and her colleague's story on the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project website.

Maya River, Chabda Republic Resource Reserve

Huanzidong Reservoir, Liaoning Province

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:02:00 +0000

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.

World Water Day

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Last month we shared information about World Wetlands Day, an annual celebration of our global wetlands. On March 22 the United Nations is sponsoring World Water Day focusing on our global fresh water resources. This year's theme is Shared Water - Shared Opportunities and focuses on transboundary water resources, such as the lakes or rivers and even underground aquifers that cross political boundaries. To learn more about this event, visit the World Water Day website. You can download a World Water Day video focusing on the Nile River, posters, send a World Water Day e-card and view an online image gallery.

Similar to our water resources, cranes also cross political boundaries during their annual migrations, and we are waiting to see where our two banded Siberian Cranes migrate this spring. We have received limited location data from both cranes over the past two weeks. Our last location for Neya, the crane in Iran, was approx. 240 km to the northwest of her release site, which may indicate that she has started to migrate (click on the map to the right to view a map of the cranes' current locations). We're hopeful that we will receive new data from her transmitter, so that we can learn where she will spend the spring and summer. Meanwhile, we are also waiting to confirm if Bai He, our banded Siberian Crane wintering in the Poyang Lake Basin, has begun his migration. We will post updates on the cranes' locations as we learn more.

We've received requests from you for images of the three white cranes (Whooping, Siberian and Red-crowned Cranes) to incorporate into your classroom activities. You can download images on the International Crane Foundation's online photo gallery, and I wanted to pass along a link for a site that I recently discovered - ARKive: Images of life on Earth. The site includes background information, images and videos of our three white cranes. Click on the links below to view these pages*

Whooping Crane

Siberian Crane

Red-crowned Crane

*Note that according to the ARKive website "Teachers, educators, researchers and students may incorporate these materials [images and video] into their lesson plans, presentations, work sheets, projects etc in hard copy and digital format for internal educational use."

Artwork Connects Us All

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:16:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:04:00 +0000

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!

Tennessee and Florida Students Learn About Whooping Cranes

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Like Gilchrist Elementary in Tallahassee, FL, many schools along the eastern crane flyway have been learning about Whooping Cranes this fall and winter. As the young Whooping Cranes completed their first fall migration through the eastern United States, ICF's Outreach Coordinator, Joan Garland, visited schools to share stories and updates on the migration and Whooping Crane conservation. Following are three images from Joan's school visits in Tennessee and Florida. If you would like to share photos or updates from your classroom activities, please email your images and stories to trackingcranes@savingcranes.org.

A student models a crane costume, designed to hide the human form from young Whooping Cranes, at Citrus Springs Middle School, Citrus Springs, FL.

Students learn about Whooping Cranes at McCallie Elementary School, Chatanooga, TN.

Joan and a student volunteer explain the use of the crane costume at Hammett Bowen Elementary School, Ocala, FL.

Gilchrist Elementary Celebrates Arrival of Whooping Cranes to Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:12:00 +0000

This week we return to our crane flyway in the eastern United States to celebrate the Florida arrival of the 14 ultra-light led Whooping Cranes in the Class of 2008. We received an email from Gilchrist Elementary School in Tallahassee, Florida, who shared how they are welcoming the Whooping Cranes to neighboring St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge. The students, with the aid of artist Dan Dancer from "Art For the Sky" created a Whooping Crane image on their school grounds by standing together in the shape of a crane (each dot on the crane's body is a student or teacher wearing white or black - also notice the students forming the border around the crane!). Photo by Bob O'Lary

The Gilchrist student's art is an important reminder of our responsibility to protect the wetlands that the Whooping Cranes depend upon in Florida and along the entire flyway north to Wisconsin. On February 2, students throughout the world will celebrate World Wetlands Day, an annual celebration supported by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (an international treaty for wetland protection). The theme of this year's celebration is "Upstream-Downstream: Wetlands Connect Us All." Click here to download a World Wetland's Day poster, brochure, do-it-yourself frog, 20 questions for kids and teachers, and wetlands comics.

Ramsar has also released a new video, “Wetlands: keeping our planet alive and well." The long version is about 4.5 minutes, and the short version is about 1.5 minutes. The files are in QuickTime .MOV format (click here to download the free QuickTime software). Click on he links below to view the video (you may need to wait a few moments while the video is downloading, but it should start playing automatically if you have QuickTime on your computer).

Long version English (30MB) http://www.ramsar.org/ramsar_video_2008_long_e.mov
Short version English (12MB) http://www.ramsar.org/ramsar_video_2008_short_e.mov

Long version Spanish (30 MB) http://www.ramsar.org/ramsar_video_2008_long_s.mov
Short version Spanish (12 MB) http://www.ramsar.org/ramsar_video_2008_short_s.mov

Classroom Art Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Earlier this year we introduced you to the Xianghai Middle School art club in northeast China and their summer mural project (check out our story, Crane Art Six Meters Long...Brings Students Together). The Xianghai students worked with artist Val DuBasky, founder of Art in a Box, to design and create the mural. Art in a Box has recently introduced their Young People's Online Gallery, which showcases artwork from the Xianghai students and other students that they work with throughout the world. Click on the following links to view the Three White Cranes artwork in the gallery:

Xianghai Middle School mural project

Chinese and Russian student notecard project
These notecards were created by students from the Xianghai Nature Reserve and Muraviovka Park in southeastern Russia. You may purchase a set of six notecards featuring this artwork through the ICF Gift Shop.

Chinese student field guide project
This artwork was created by students during the 2008 summer environmental camp at the Keerqin Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia, China.

We hope that after viewing this online art that you and your students are inspired to design your own classroom mural or wetland art project. To get you started, click on the link below to download a template for creating your own Siberian Crane flock. Each sheet is designed to make two Siberian Cranes. To create the cranes, simply make copies of the template and cut out the five pieces for each crane. The two sides for the cranes' body and legs can be glued or stapled together. Note that for younger students we recommend adding a quarter inch of white space around the legs before they cut out these sections.

This paper crane template was designed by the Iranian National Coordination Unit of the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project (SCWP), an international project to conserve the Siberian Crane flyways in Eurasia.

Siberian_Crane_template.pdf

Fall Migration Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:12:00 +0000

In the last few weeks we received new location data from our banded Siberian Cranes confirming that both birds have arrived on their wintering area in the Poyang Lake Basin (Jiangxi Province, China)! On November 25, we received a location for No. 59947 from the wintering area, and on December 6 we received a location for No. 59948 from a nearby area in the Poyang Lake Basin (see below image).

We will continue to update our online migration map during the winter, and we hope that you can join us in the spring as we follow the banded cranes on their return migration north to Russia. Researchers studying the banded cranes are excited to see what habitats the cranes use during the winter (do they use areas with high water or low water, etc.?), and they are especially interested to learn where the banded chicks return in the spring (do they return to the breeding areas in northeastern Russia or spend the summer in a different area?).

We also wanted to share with you some great images from the fall migration on birdnet.cn, a blog for birders to share information and news about birds in China.

Click on the following link to view images from Huanzidong Reservoir, Liaoning Province http://www.birdnet.cn/bbs/thread-34527-1-1.html (check out our blog posting from mid November on Huanzidong Reservoir for more information on this site).

A single Siberian Crane was also sighted in Zhejiang Province in eastern China on November 28, 2008. Click here, http://www.birdnet.cn/bbs/thread-36092-1-1.html, to view several up-close images of this beautiful bird.

A Week in the Life of a Crane

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:13:00 +0000

As we wait to receive new location data from our two banded Siberian Cranes, we thought it would be fun to share with you a few more details about where the Siberian Cranes stopped to rest in Liaoning Province earlier this month.

Our first crane, No. 59947, spent at least 12 days (October 31 - November 11) near a large, shallow water reservoir (Wolong Lake). The reservoir is on the west side of Kanping City (the local county seat) in central Liaoning Province. In the past, the water in the reservoir was between 1.5-3.5 m deep; but, in 2003, the reservoir completely dried out and there was no more water. The local goverment started storing water back in the reservoir in late 2005, and the reservoir was set up as a provincial nature reserve when it was restored (a provincial reserve is similar to a state park in the United States). Most of the reservoir was covered by aquatic plants in very shallow water, especially at the southern end. In spring 2008, 800 Siberian Cranes were observed at the reservoir during annual waterbird surveys. Red-crowned Cranes and Swan Geese have also been observed at the reservoir.

The image above shows the locations of No. 59947 as it moved around the reservoir in early November (click on the image to view a larger version of the map).

At the same time, between October 30 - November 2, No. 59948 moved to southeastern Inner Mongolia, about 60 km southeast of Tongliao City. This location is in the southern part of the Keerqin Desert. There are many sand dunes and also many small lakes and ponds in the desert . The location of the banded crane is by one of those shallow lakes (click on the picture below to view a larger version of the map).

On November 6 No. 59948 moved south and stopped along the Yellow Sea coast in Liaoning Province. This location is right on the salt marsh (pictures below) near the mouth of the Daling River. Click on the image below to view a larger version of the map.

We thank Dr. Su Lying and Jim Harris for submitting this information and images.

Golda Meir Craniacs

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Jan Weiler, 3rd grade teacher at Golda Meir School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, recently sent us several pictures from her class field trip to the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in October. Jan noted that it was a cool, cloudy day with the students at ICF and in the field in Briggsville, WI, where they learned about the mission of ICF, the cranes on display in the ICF exhibit area, and cranes in the wild in Briggsville, where they saw Sandhill Cranes in newly cut fields.

The students gathered in the ICF Visitor Center to begin their tour - check out their Golda Meir Craniacs hats!

The class then met up with Joan Garland, ICF's Outreach Coordinator, for the tour of ICF. The students learned how scientists dress in a crane costume while raising Whooping Cranes for release into the wild, so the chicks do not imprint on humans.

The students also talked with Zhang Juan, educator from Beijing Brooks Education Center, who taught the students about the migration of Siberian and Red-crowned Cranes in East Asia. Zhang Juan was in Wisconsin for the teacher exchange portion of the Three White Cranes project.

On the way home to Milwaukee, the class stopped at Neenah Creek Elementary School in Briggsville, WI to talk with Anne Lacy, ICF's Sandhill Crane Project Manager. She showed the students how she tracks cranes banded with radio transmitters and studies them in the wild.

Thank you to Jan and her class for sharing their experience with us! If you would like to share a story about a recent class activity or project, please email us at trackingcranes@savingcranes.org.

Huanzidong Reservoir, Liaoning Province

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:26:00 +0000

This week, we received an exciting update on the Siberian Crane fall migration in eastern China from Mr. Zhou Haixiang, who recently visited Huanzidong Reservoir in Liaoning Province. Huanzidong Reservoir is located northwest of Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning. Our last location for No. 59947 from November 10th places this crane near the reservoir. Meanwhile, No. 59948 arrived on the northern shore of the Bo Hai Sea on November 5th. The Bo Hai Sea is an important "rest stop" for hundreds of thousands of migratory waterbirds in eastern China. To learn more about this area, check out our fact sheet and PowerPoint presentation on Tianjin, the third largest city in China on the western shores of Bo Hai.

"The Siberian Crane flock size at the migration stopover site in Huanzidong Reservoir in central Liaoning Province, China, gradually increased from over 20 birds in early October, up to 430 birds on November 5. On November 6, most of the cranes left the area to continue their southern migration (photos 1-3 below). Over a hundred Siberian Cranes remain at the site (photo 4 below). About 10% of the remaining cranes are chicks from this year (maybe one of our banded chicks was in this flock!). Mr. Zhou said that normally Siberian Cranes leave Huanzidong in late October, and by early November all of the cranes are gone. This fall the cranes are leaving later than in other years.

Besides Siberian Cranes, on November 5, 44 Hooded Cranes were observed at the site. These cranes left for the south the same day (photo 5 below). Flocks of Oriental White Storks have been arriving at the site in small groups of 20-50 birds, and left in October for the south."

We thank Dr. Su Liying for sending us this report and Mr. Zhou Haixiang for allowing us to post his beautiful images.

Wetland Research in Northeast China

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:00:00 +0000

As the banded Siberian Cranes continue to move through Northeast China, our blog posting this week focuses on the region's wetlands. The following update is by Dr. Su Liying (pictured in the front of the boat in the image below), who is studying the wetlands on the Songnen Plain, an important area for waterbirds (our banded chicks have rested in this area over the last few weeks). Liying is working with Chinese colleagues to survey the plants and wetlands within Zhalong Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang Province. Through this project, researchers are mapping the ditches and dikes within the reserve (developed to move water to nearby cities) to help design water releases that benefit the wetlands and waterbirds, such as cranes.

While working in the wetlands, researchers must walk on mats of vegetation (below), which can be very difficult!

"In recent years, with growing human demands for water, many wetlands are shrinking in northern China, and some are disappearing. I have studied the wetlands on the Songnen Plain (below), important for cranes and other waterbirds in the breeding season and for Siberian Cranes stopping on migration to and from the Siberian tundra where they breed. Satellite images make it clear that, aside from Zhalong Marsh, the largest of these wetlands now lie near Daqing. In particular, sizable wetlands lie north of Daqing Reservoir and extend east to Hongqi Reservoir. These wetlands have survived and grown, due to the protection of the city's sources of drinking water and gradual seepage from the reservoirs. A broad range of wet meadows and grasslands lie adjacent. Varying rainfall creates dynamic shifts each year among open water lakes, reed marshes, wet meadows, and grasslands providing different types of habitat for many birds.

These wetlands play a similar role to well known wetlands, such as the wetlands within the Zhalong and Xianghai Nature Reserves. Last fall, I was lucky to visit Daqing and see Siberian, Red-crowned, Hooded and White-naped Cranes with many other species of ducks and migratory birds. Now these wetlands are being considered for protection, for the sake of the migratory cranes and other birds."

Chinese students learn about nature through writing and photography

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:56:00 +0000

"We saw the most beautiful grassland along the road that I had ever seen. There are various grasses, as well as various flowers. They are very beautiful, blue, yellow flowers… so pretty. The green grassland looked like it was wearing beautiful clothing. The flowers are patterns on the new clothing of the ground. We also saw cattle with yellow, black-white, and yellow-white, and some sheep with snow white fur. Then, can you guess what we have seen? We saw a group of brown horses! They are so beautiful! It is the first time for us to see horses. We were surprised. I love this beautiful large wetland."

The above essay is by Yin Xiao Shuang, a student from northeastern China who visited Naoli River Nature Reserve last June. The essay describes her experiences visiting the reserve - a special experience for a student that may live in a city and not have many opportunities to visit a wetland or learn about nature first hand.

To encourage students to explore nature near their homes, Beijing Brooks Education Center, our project partners in China, developed an essay and photography activity for students living near our project sites in eastern China. Through class field trips, the students visit nature reserves near their homes to learn about cranes and wetlands. During these trips the students take pictures of the wetlands, birds or each other, and when they return to their classrooms they write about their experiences. Click here to read more student essays and view examples of the student photographs (two of the student's images are copied below).

Student Camps in Northeast China

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:39:00 +0000

The two banded Siberian Cranes that we are tracking this fall are currently located in Northeast China near several wetland nature reserves that are involved in our Three White Cranes project. This area is an important migration "rest stop" for Siberian Cranes, which may gather in large flocks of over over one thousand birds to rest and feed before continuing their migration. The image below was taken by Russian researcher, Sergei Sleptsov, in October 2007 at Momoge Nature Reserve in northwestern Jilin Province. Perhaps our two banded cranes have stopped to rest in this same area as they journey south this fall!

Since 2000, the International Crane Foundation has partnered with nature reserves in Russia and China to host international environmental camps at the wetland reserves used by the migrating cranes. Summer camps are a strong tradition in both countries, and through this project we are able to combine this tradition with learning about the environment and cranes. Through these camps, teachers and students from the United States, Russia and China learn about wetlands and cranes, along with their shared responsibility in protecting these valuable resources.

This summer, four American teachers from Milwaukee and Racine WI, along with educators from the Amur Region in southeastern Russia, traveled to Northeast China to participate in two student camps at the Xianghai and Keerqin Nature Reserves. Nearly 50 Chinese students and 21 teachers and reserve staff participated in the Xianghai camp, which included training for the local teachers prior to the student activities and focused on the themes of water, wetlands, forests and waterbirds. Following the Xianghai camp, the Russian and American teachers traveled to neighboring Keerqin Nature Reserve to help lead a second camp for 20 local students.

Following are several images from the teacher training and student camp held in July 2008 at the Xianghai reserve (photos by Zhang Juan). To learn more about the Xianghai camp activities, read our previous post Crane Art Six Meters Long...Brings Students Together.

Crane Days in Southern Yakutia

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:00:00 +0000

By Masha Vladimirtseva

This fall is very special because of two young Siberian Cranes who have their special task to carry PTTs (satellite transmitters for tracking the birds) and show their migration routes to the world.

Three people from our Institute went to southern Yakutia to watch and count Siberian Cranes along the flyway and transit stops in middle to late September. But I also had another goal – the education work in local schools and participation in Crane Days of the local schools. On September 25, we went to the school in Petropavlosk, and on September 26, we visited a school in Ust-Maya. More than 100 students were involved in the Crane Day activities.

There were several very fascinating shows in both schools performed by the students (below), and in Ust-Maya a group of older people from the settlement participated in the celebration. I gave my presentation on our Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World project. The students especially liked the Siberian Crane calls that I had taped at the International Crane Foundation – the cranes call very loudly!

In Ust-Maya we also discussed with teachers the summer camp held at the Chabda Resource Reserve in 2008. Students from the Ust-Maya school had a great experience to spend time on the nesting territory of the Hooded Crane and transit territory of the Siberian Crane. The students could watch Hooded Cranes flying over the Chabda Reserve building and hear the cranes’ calls. They liked the wooden models of Siberian Cranes made by ornithologist Vasily Okoneshnikov to attract real cranes to the feeding grounds during their migration.

On September 28-30, using bear trails in the tightly grown forest, we visited two bird observation points. The observation areas were built by inspector Peter Tokumov, who monitors the Siberian Crane migration every fall and spring. The first was a very high (15 m) wooden ladder with a small viewing deck, built on a hill. The second was a small blind for hiding from the wind made from stones and built on another hill. Both observation points were built about 4 km from each other, on either side of the Siberian Crane flyway.

On October 1, we conducted a Crane Day celebration in the Okhotski Perevoz school. The settlement is on both banks of the Aldan River and to reach the school we had to be transported to the right bank. This school includes just 25 students. We presented a “Crane Day” banner to the school. We showed them the Crane Day presentation and many crane pictures and videos, and talked with them. All of the students see migrating cranes every fall and spring. All of the children were rewarded with pins, stickers and posters. The young artists who presented their pictures for the website were rewarded with books and and other prizes.

That night, we saw our first flock of seven Siberian Cranes, with two young. On October 2 we saw two flocks of nine and 19 Siberian Cranes. We saw many more cranes the next day. While returning to the school, we met three local men who also counted cranes. They wrote digits (counting results) carved with a knife on fire wood. In the school, we showed our just taken photos to the children. Some of them had seen these birds, also. We continued to count Siberian Cranes flying over Okhotski Perevoz and counted 798 individuals. Some people could see these cranes far from the settlement.

Fall Migration Field Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Masha Vladimirtseva emailed us yesterday with news from the field about the Siberian Crane fall migration. Masha and members of the Tomponski Inspection of Nature Protection counted 798 migrating Siberian Cranes (nearly 20% of the eastern population!) between October 1 - 6 in Tomponski Ulus in southern Yakutia. This is close to the recent locations of the two banded chicks that we are following this fall (view the migration map at www.scwp.info/imaps.html).

During the survey the researchers stayed with Rosa and Alexey Zelepukhin, local residents who watch the migration every year and give their reports to Masha's Institute in Yakutsk. Their survey location was 1 km to the west of Okhotski Perevoz, on the left bank of the Aldan River.

On October, 3, the group visited the head of Okhotski Perevoz's Administration, Vasili Federov. While discussing the Three White Cranes project with Masha and her colleagues, he received a telephone call and learned from a local woman that Siberian Cranes were flying over the Administration building. They jumped out of the building and counted 11 flocks of 8 to 80 cranes, including chicks. During just 10 minutes they saw 481 Siberian Cranes.

Three White Cranes Art Exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:16:00 +0000

Art helps us communicate across different languages and cultures, and our annual student art exchange has become an important part of the Three White Cranes project. Our project educators carry the art between schools in the United States and across continents to China and Russia to share with our project schools in east Asia.

This fall, our Three White Cranes, Two Flyways, One World: Children's International Art Exhibit is on display at the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, WI. The exhibit opened October 5th and will run through late December at the Center's Riverside Park location. The exhibit features artwork from students in Milwaukee, Russia and China focusing on cranes and their wetland habitats. Photos of the exhibit installation by Zhang Juan and Gao Luli.

School Far in the Taiga

noreply@blogger.com (Sara, ICF Educator) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:34:00 +0000

This story is about a school in a small village in the taiga of Yakutia, Russia. There is neither internet nor telephone or fax, and we connect to the school through Rosa Zelepukhina, a forester and shy old woman, who has worked hard all her life, and who comes to our Institute from time to time. She organizes Crane Celebrations in several schools in her region, Tomponski Ulus, in southeastern Yakutia. She encourages children to participate in environmental actions. Several local children were very late with their art preparation for the Republic Art Competition, “Siberian Crane - the Bird of Happiness.” At that time Rosa had just returned from our Institute with special prizes from the Organizing Committee for the Competition participants. She had no additional prizes for these students. She organized the local Exposition of these arts and still rewarded them with prizes she prepared herself. Introduction by Masha Vladimirtseva, Yakutsk, Russia

This is Rosa's story:

There is a small village, Okhotsky Perevoz (Hunter’s Transit) in southeastern Yakutia along the eastern Siberian Crane flyway. It was founded in 1936 as transit point on the Aldan River, a eastern tributary of the Lena River. In the past, shipments to the Okhotsky Sea were transported through this village by horses. Once it was a densely populated village, but then other roads were developed and the village lost its former status. At the present, 106 people live there, and only 19 students study in the school built for as many as 150 pupils. There are Yakutian, Russian, Belarus and Ukraine students.

In former times on the left bank of the Aldan River there was a Hydro-Meteorological Station, with 32 working staff, with a scientific research boat named Synoptic. And now there are just five staff. Many staff became teachers in Okhotsky Perevoz’s school. Director Elena Bashtovaya and the teachers do their best to make children feel close to the interior world in this remote land. Some topic parties are held every week here. We have a special summer camp. We have summer field trips, berry and mushroom gathering. Every spring and fall children ages six and older help adults count migrating Siberian Cranes and fill out the counting forms. Every year we celebrate Crane Day. Our students participated in the Republic Competition “Siberian Crane - the Bird of Happiness,” and two girls, Ira and Christina, won first prizes.

A very beautiful environment embraces this small village. But life here is not easy. And it is a great wonder that our people do not just survive in such hard conditions, but also develop the souls of our children.

Click here to read more stories about students in Yakutia, China and the United States participating in the Three White Cranes project.