Updates from the Field

Activities: Fall Migration

Geography: Tracking Cranes

Summary: This activity is based on a satellite tracking study completed in 1995 and 1996 by a team of Japanese and Russian researchers. For this study, 13 Siberian Cranes were fitted with satellite transmitters (PTTs) on their breeding grounds in northeastern Russia. Location data was collected from the banded birds throughout the fall migration, enabling the researchers to map the birds' migration routes and identify important stopover locations along the flyway. Before this study, researchers knew very little about the eastern Siberian Crane population's migration route or stopover locations.

Using the location data from the study, you and your students will map the fall migration of five of the banded Siberian Cranes (two from the 1995 study and three from the 1996 study). These five birds were tracked through the entire fall migration (the remaining eight birds were tracked part way before the researchers stopped receiving location data from their transmitters). We will post the location data using the same schedule as the actual migrations in 1995 and 1996 (beginning the week of September 17 for the 1996 migration and the week of October 1 for the 1995 migration).

Objectives: Students will follow the Siberian Crane fall migration along the east Asia flyway and recognize that cranes and other migratory bird species rely on widespread resources that link people from different regions and countries.

Materials: We've designed this activity so that you can map the migration two different ways. First, you can use a standard political map of Asia and plot the coordinates (lattitude and longitude), which we will post each week in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. If you do not have a classroom map of Asia, you may purchase one at a local map store or online through the National Geographic website.

Second, you can use Google Earth (right), a free software tool that allows you to explore the earth through satellite imagery, to view the migration (this is really cool and worth the time to check out!). Each week, we will post a data file (.kml) that you can download and open in Google Earth to view the birds' locations. Click here for instructions on downloading and using Google Earth.

Click here for the weekly location data.

Procedure:

Part I: Background Information and Introduction
Introduce students to Siberian Cranes and their conservation history using the online Siberian Crane Fact Sheet and conservation history summary. Introduce the east Asia flyway map to illustrate the Siberian Crane’s range and general migration route. Discuss how researchers study bird migration and band cranes to learn more about their annual movements (click here for background information on studying bird migration). Point out that although researchers have learned many things about Siberian Crane migration, we still have many questions. Introduce the satellite tracking study and discuss that you will track the fall migration of five birds from this study.

Part II: Mapping
If you are using a classroom map, ask students to plot the weekly data points on the map, using a different color or symbol for each banded crane. Note that in the data spreadsheet, each bird is identified by a unique PTT ID. Discuss the schedule for receiving the location data and that as a group you will map the birds’ progress each week. As you receive location updates, introduce this new information to the students and ask them to map the new locations. Note that sometimes the birds will stay in the same location for several days as they rest and feed before they continue their migration.

If you are using Google Earth, click here for directions on how to use the location data files (.kml) to view the migration data.

Extension Activities: In the United States, researchers are also studying Whooping Crane migration using similar methods as the Siberian Crane migration study. Each fall, a group of young Whooping Cranes are led by ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to their wintering area in northwestern Florida. In the spring, the young birds retrace their migration route and return to Wisconsin on their own. Each bird is banded (all birds are banded with a radio transmitter and plastic bands, while a few birds have satellite transmitters), which allow researchers to track the birds during migration and learn more about their wintering and summering areas.

Click here to learn more about Whooping Cranes and the project to return this endangered species to the eastern US, and visit the Journey North website to follow the banded Whooping Cranes as they migrate between Wisconsin and Florida each fall and spring.