LDWF - Second Group of Whooping Cranes Released at White Lake WCA

On Dec. 27, 2011, sixteen juvenile whooping cranes were released into the wild at White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area (WCA) in Gueydan. The juvenile cranes join three adults that were released in March as part of an experimental population being monitored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). This group of cranes stayed in the enclosed pen for the first few weeks, adjusting to the wetlands and climate, as well as receiving their bands and transmitters.

The cranes were delivered to southwest Louisiana on Dec. 1 from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. LDWF is working cooperatively with U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), USGS, and the Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit to establish a non-migratory population in the state.

The whooping crane is protected under the federal Endangered Species and Migratory Bird Treaty Acts and by state law. Anyone encountering a whooping crane is advised to observe the bird from a distance.

Whooping cranes are large-bodied, white birds similar to white ibis, white pelicans, and wood storks, all of which must be distinguished from legally-hunted snow geese. However, a red head and black facial markings along with a height of five feet and a wingspan of 7-8 feet make them very distinctive. In flight, whooping cranes display black wing tips and fully extended neck and legs, which extend well beyond the tail.

Juvenile whooping cranes are primarily white with some cinnamon-brown feathers remaining on their body, primarily on their head and neck. Their wing tips are black like an adult, but they lack the red head.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Whooping Crane
• southwest Louisiana
• birds
• birding
• flight
• release
• cranes
• wlf
• ldwf
• wildlife and fisheries