tracking cranes
Do you ever wonder where the birds that live near your home spend the winter or summer? Some birds may spend the entire year in the same region, while others, such as the Whooping or Siberian Crane, migrate hundreds of miles each spring and fall between their winter and summer homes. To protect migratory species, such as cranes, we need to preserve important wetland areas where the birds summer and winter, but just as important, we also need to understand their migration routes to protect the places where they stop to rest and feed during their long journeys. Researchers from the International Crane Foundation (ICF) are working with partners in China, Russia and Iran to study Siberian Crane migration in Asia. This spring we will receive regular location data (latitude and longitude coordinates) from two banded Siberian Cranes as they migrate north from their wintering areas in China and Iran. |
Attention teachers: download the classroom mapping activity outline |
Meet the Cranes
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Bai He (formerly No. 59947) was banded as a chick in northeastern Russia in summer 2008 (upper left). We followed Bai He as he completed his first migration south to China (over 3,000 miles!) in fall 2008 and hope to continue tracking his movements as he migrates north in the spring. Unfortunately, we are no longer receiving location data from the second Siberian Crane (No. 59948) that we tracked in the fall.
We are excited to introduce a new Siberian Crane, Neya, who was released in winter 2008 on the species' wintering grounds in northern Iran. Neya has partnered with a wild male Siberian Crane who returned to the wintering grounds in the fall (upper right, Neya is on the left). In late February Neya moved approximately 240 km northwest from her wintering site. Unfortunately, we have not received any new location data from her transmitter since March 1, 2009.
When will we capture and band the cranes?
Researchers banded Bai He in late August 2008 in Yakutia, Russia. We tracked Bai He as he completed his first fall migration to the Poyang Lake Basin in southeastern China. Researchers are interested in studying Bai He's migration north in spring 2009, to learn where he spends his first summer away from his parents. Researchers believe young Siberian Cranes may use different areas than breeding adults during their first summer.
Researchers are also tracking a Siberian Crane released on the species’ wintering grounds in northern Iran (along the western flyway). The crane was raised in captivity at the Oka Crane Breeding Center in Russia and was released at Fereydoon Kenar, Iran in December 2008. The crane was banded and placed with a single wild Siberian Crane that returned to Iran in the fall. The researchers are anxious to learn if the two cranes will migrate north together, allowing them to track the progress of the cranes and learn where they summer. The single wild crane that returned to Iran is the only confirmed Siberian Crane in the species’ western population, although there are unconfirmed reports of other Siberian Cranes along the flyway in eastern Europe.
How are the cranes captured?
Bai He was captured before he fledged (learned how to fly), which is the easiest time for researchers to capture crane chicks. Using a helicopter, the researchers hover low over the cranes, scaring the adults away from the chicks, and pinning the chicks down with the wind created by the helicopter. The researchers jump down from the helicopter to capture the young birds and carefully band them. Researchers have also tested a snare method to capture adult Siberian Cranes in China. Similar in appearance to a fish net, the snare is designed to entangle a crane’s leg and hold the bird in place, allowing the researchers to capture the crane for banding.
The following images are from an expedition led by ICF's Russian colleagues in 2005 to capture and band Siberian Crane chicks in Yakutia.
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What is a PTT?
A PTT (Platform Transmitter Terminal) is a small transmitter that sends a periodic signal to satellites orbiting the Earth. The satellites store these data and transmit this information to a processing center on the ground, where the locations of the signals are automatically calculated and sent to researchers throughout the world. The PTTs are solar powered or use batteries, which may last several months to several years, based on how often the PTT transmits a signal. The PTTs are attached to plastic bands that are placed on the birds’ legs (below left, photo by Zhu Ying) or attached to a harness that the birds wear like a backpack (below right).
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How do researchers study bird migration?
Researchers face a unique challenge when studying bird migration, as it is often difficult or impossible to follow birds as they migrate long distances between their breeding and wintering areas. It is also often impossible to identify individual birds among large flocks (have you ever tried to follow a duck or goose in a large flock on a lake or river near your home?). So, how do researchers study bird migration?
Banding Studies: Scientists have developed several techniques to place bands on birds so that they can be easily identified. For small songbirds, such as warblers, researchers place small, metal bands on the birds’ legs. Each band is stamped with a unique number, so that when the bird is captured again or found, the researcher can look up the number to learn when and where the bird was first banded. This information can tell us a lot about a bird’s migration, as we can compare when and where a bird was banded with when and where it was resighted.
Researchers in many countries are using similar techniques to band cranes. In the United States, for example, researchers from the International Crane Foundation are banding Sandhill Cranes to learn more about these birds in central Wisconsin. The researchers place brightly colored plastic bands on the birds’ legs, which are easily seen from a distance using binoculars. Each bird has a unique combination of colored bands and may also have a larger band with an engraved number. By looking up the color combination and number, the researchers can identify a banded Sandhill Crane in Wisconsin and compare past observations of the bird with their current observations.
In East Asia, researchers are involved in similar studies with Siberian Cranes. Since 1990 nearly 70 Siberian Cranes have been captured and banded on their summering grounds in eastern Siberia (below). Many of these birds have been resighted along the East Asia flyway in China.
PTT Studies: Although researchers have learned much about bird migration from banding cranes, it is still very difficult to follow cranes as they migrate, as a crane can fly hundreds of miles in a day during migration and may rest in remote areas that are difficult for people to reach. As a result, scientists have developed ways to follow birds on migration using small transmitters (PTTs) that are attached to a plastic leg band or a harness that is placed on the bird (similar to a backpack). The transmitters are designed to send signals to orbiting satellites, which in turn send data on the birds’ locations to researchers. Using these data, researchers can plot the birds’ migration on a map and can identify important areas that are used by the birds during their migration and at their wintering and summering areas.
In 1995 and 1996 a team of Japanese and Russian researchers placed satellite transmitters on 13 Siberian Cranes on their breeding grounds in northeastern Russia. Five of the 13 birds were tracked approximately 3,000 miles to their wintering area in the Poyang Lake Basin in southeastern China. Through this study, researchers identified several important stop-over sites. Prior to this study, researchers knew very little about the migration route and stop-over sites of the eastern Siberian Crane population. Our current migration study will add to this knowledge.