Only 330 whooping cranes are still left in the wild.
By LEE HINNANT
Columbus County is hosting an extremely rare visitor, one that until last winter had gone unseen in the Carolinas for more than a century. Deep in a wetland in the southern part of the county there is a solitary whooping crane.
The tallest of all North American birds, whooping cranes can look an average man straight in the eye and spread their wings across nearly eight feet. Direct ancestors of whooping cranes once numbered in the thousands and dotted American wetlands when dinosaurs walked the planet.
Whooping cranes are creamy white with black wingtips and dark facial marking. They have a distinctive crimson patch at the top of their heads and are striking to view. Crane experts know a whooper is here because he has been spotted feeding in a big open field. Last week, signals from a tracking device confirmed the presence of the giant bird.
Hunters seeking plumage for vanity blasted whooping cranes to the very edge of extinction. There were but 15 whoopers left in 1941 and the majestic birds remain among the most endangered of known species. There are only 330 wild whooping cranes in the world, including the 221 in the original, natural population that migrates between Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.
The Columbus whooper is a 2-1/2-year-old male dubbed “1803.” The juvenile is part of a colony started in 2001 that has established cranes that migrate between Wisconsin’s Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The Wisconsin colony has been featured worldwide in documentaries, motion pictures and stories. The monumental effort to re-establish the cranes has brought together several non-profit conservation groups and state and federal government agencies. Because all of the Wisconsin whooping cranes were raised in captivity, scientists knew they would not be able to learn how to migrate on their own. Breeders, therefore, raised the birds to think that their “parents” were ultralight aircraft and pilots dressed in billowy white costumes. The subterfuge was designed to keep the impressionable chicks from being “imprinted” by people and reinforce the notion they should be afraid of humans.
Each fall, a team of ultralight pilots and massive ground crews make the 1,250-mile journey from Wisconsin to Florida, an undertaking that this year took 61 days at a cost of more than $1.6 million, said Walt Sturgeon, assistant director of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Sturgeon is also president of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association and a volunteer for the annual move, called Operation Migration.
Once the youngest cranes have been guided once by the ultralights, they are expected to make further migrations on their own.
Last winter, “1803” was among a small group of whooping cranes that lost their way during the unassisted migration from Wisconsin to Florida and landed in South Carolina before making their way to Jones County, N.C., for the winter. The cranes eventually made it back to Wisconsin, albeit after some were captured.
Sturgeon believes that “1803” was likely blown off course by a storm this fall as the crane migrated from Wisconsin toward Florida. The whooper is old enough to make its own way and Sturgeon is visiting Columbus County to monitor him, not capture him.
It is important that the whooping crane not be harassed or spooked, particularly in the evening, when it might fly to an unsuitable habitat out of fear, Sturgeon said. For that reason, the whooper’s location is a closely guarded secret.
Last week, Sturgeon, his wife Gay and N.C. Forestry Museum Director Harry Warren set out to find the bird and check on its condition. A resident spotted the crane early in the day. Twice, the team received tantalizingly strong signals from a radio beacon. Deep water in a creek separated the bird from the team during the second attempt.
Warren’s museum is a branch of the Museum of Natural Sciences and he has coordinated efforts to help monitor the whooping crane. “This is a really big deal,” he said as the crew roamed back roads in search of the giant bird.
Sturgeon said that “1803” has lost its way twice but that in both instances, the whooping crane seems to have selected habitats that are safe and will provide adequate food for the winter. He believes the bird will eventually leave on its own and find its way back to its Wisconsin colony.
In the meantime, Sturgeon plans to make periodic visits to check on Columbus County’s critically endangered visitor.
