Updates from the Field

Attention Teachers: Download this week's location data for the banded Siberian Cranes that we are tracking this fall Week 10 Bohai Bay This week three of the Siberian Cranes that we are tracking arrive at the Bohai Sea (click on the image to the right to view a larger image of the area). Researchers from Beijing Normal University are conducting surveys of migrating waterbird populations within Tianjin and Bohai Bay to better understand when and how the birds use this area. The surveys are conducted along fresh and salt water wetlands, reservoirs and mudflats within the study area. Note that Bohai Bay (located southeast of Tianjin) is one of three bays in the larger Bohai Sea. Student Activity Math: Waterbird Populations The table below lists the results of several waterbird surveys conducted within Bohai Bay beginning in the fall of 2006 through the fall of 2007. The table lists the total numbers of waterbirds observed during each survey, along with the number of identified species. Review the survey results and graph the data to illustrate the changing numbers of birds and species recorded during the surveys. Discuss the pattern illustrated by the data and how it is related to the birds' annual cycles. The Bohai Sea is also an important area for oil drilling in China. One of the largest oil fields in the country, the Shengli Oil Field, is located to the northwest of the Yellow River Delta on the southern edge of the Sea. Discuss how this may threaten the fragile wetlands along the Sea and the future for Siberian Cranes and other waterbirds that depend on this region. Survey Date Annual Cycle Total Number of Birds Recorded Total Number of Species Identified Notes September 21-29, 2006 fall migration 53,290 46   November 26 - December 1, 2006 fall migration 122,264 40 Researchers noted that the large number of birds observed (over double the number recorded in late September) was explained by a few species that migrated through the survey area in large flocks. December 21 - 22, 2006 winter 10,152 12   February 13 - 15, 2007 winter 6,762 18   February 27 - March 4, 2007 spring migration 13,943 37   March 1 - April 20, 2007 spring migration not listed 80 Daily surveys conducted at Beidagang Reservoir (Tianjin); species observed included Siberian and White-naped Cranes, Oriental White Stork, and a banded Tundra Swan. The swan was banded on the Lena Delta in Russia (73°10'49.06"N, 126°16'4.06"E) by Japanese researchers (about 3,800 km from Tianjin). September 3-6, 2007 fall migration 42,541 49

Field Updates Student Activities Yakutian Birds Geography: Taiga and Tundra Ecoregions Field Work in the Tundra Science: Studying Animal Behavior Environmental Camps Team Building: Crane Egg Game Fall Migration Geography: Tracking Cranes Waterbird Lead Poisoning in Yakutia Social Studies: Raising Awareness Northeast China Discussion: Changing Landscapes Songnen Plain Science: Wetlands as Filters Student Exchanges Writing: School News Birding in China Science: Classroom Bird Feeders Bohai Bay Math: Waterbird Populations Poyang Lake Basin