Bird Calendars

NOTES FROM NATURE

By Jerry Toll

The immortal cranes call, their cries sound from afar, their thoughts circle upward into distant skies. Below, on the autumn rivers, stands a man, above him the bright moon. The man wanders aimless, trailing after the Milky Way. The wind blows past him. I, too, thinks the man, would like to be utterly free. Jiang Yi Ning

It's March The Sandhills will be coming soon. Each season, sometimes each month, is referenced by the passing of a species that holds special significance for me. March, Sandhill Crane.

I have been reading Peter Matthiessen's The Bird of Heaven, an account of his experiences with the fifteen extant species of cranes that exist on five of the seven continents of the world.

So far I have only traveled with him through Asia, but it is in Asia that the greatest diversity as well as the greatest threat in crane conservation occurs.

Ten species in three genera of cranes occur including our own Lesser Sandhills that are the only species to be found regularly on two continents and in two hemispheres.

Crane conservators face a difficult task in Asia. Of the ten species found on the continent, six are endangered. The reasons are familiar and simple. Loss of habitat and the cranes' high degree of specialization limit their compatibility and adaptability to human presence.

The solutions needed to preserve cranes are extremely complex and may well prove in some cases unattainable. For those populations that migrate, not only must they face the physical rigors of migration but must cross political boundaries of adversarial nations.

We in North America enjoy good relations with our neighbor countries and fine common interests in preserving those species that cross our borders. Conservation plans are coordinated and honored by the U.S. and Canada and to some extent by Mexico as well. In Asia, cooperation between China, Russia, Japan, India, and Mongolia, just to name the largest countries, has been strained for centuries.

Little energy is expended because of old hatreds based on past aggressions and cultural differences. All of these countries share a love of and reverence for cranes in their art and literature. Hope for their survival comes from this tradition, and the scientific influence of the west.

Up until the 1970's, 80's and even 90's, very little was known about the natural history and ecology of the cranes. As an example, Siberian cranes were known to overwinter in India, but the breeding grounds and migration routes were unknown. It is now known that the western population breeds in the subarctic tundra around the Ob River separating European Russia from Siberia. They migrate 3,100 miles, one of the longest migrations of any nonpelagic species, through Afghanistan in a sweeping arc that avoids the Himalayas.

The International Crane Foundation of Baraboo, Wisconsin, has been instrumental in the preservation of the Asian cranes. They initiated captive breeding and population enhancement programs and funded field studies of their natural histories that are essential to recovery.

There are a few bright spots in the recovery process. Most of the scientific background is completed. Implementation has begun for most species, and there are capable and dedicated "craniacs" in each country.

Even so, in India and China, countries that possess the most devastated landscapes on earth, recovery is far from certain. In these countries' current climate of embracing western materialism, much will be put aside in the headlong pursuit of wealth.

Sandwiched between these two giants is the tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan. It is an environmental jewel and the home of the Black-necked Crane. The Buddhist theocratic government is making every effort to keep it that way. Isolated politically and geographically, the people have resisted efforts from outside influences to "modernize."

Another jewel of Asia is Outer Mongolia, through which five species of cranes migrate. Also politically isolated, its people have held onto their tradition of being wandering herders. Consequently, the steppes of Asia have scarcely known the plow. Wildlife is reported to be still abundant. The Steppes of Outer Mongolia are still what the Great Plains once were, according to Matthiessen.

Participate in Field Research — Join the Birds in Forested Landscapes Project

By Jerry Toll

Birds in Forested Landscapes Project (BFL) is a citizen science project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the U.S. Forest Service, which needs volunteer birders to help examine the effects of disturbance from recreational development as well as forest fragmentation on North American forest birds.

Findings from the study will be used to develop management recommendations, with descriptions about the kinds and amounts of habitat required to sustain healthy bird populations.

Volunteers will receive a research kit of instructions, data forms, as well as a CD with songs, calls and other sounds of the BFL study species for field use.Participants choose their own study sites in a forest or forest fragment of any size. They make two visits to their sites during the breeding season to conduct the BFL protocol, as well as to record habitat data and landscape variables.

For information contact Sara Baker, forest birds@cornell.edu>or write c/o Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.

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