New whooping crane pen at St. Marks NWR in Florida, September 2008. USFWS photo.

Wakulla High School ROTC volunteers fill sand bags for construction of an oyster bar for the new whooping crane pen at St. Marks NWR in Florida, September 2008.  USFWS photo.

Staff from St. Marks NWR in Florida recently collaborated with volunteers from the Wakulla High School ROTC to prepare the new whooping crane pen facilities located on the refuge.  At a work party held on Saturday, September 27, ROTC volunteers filled 900 sandbags to construct an oyster reef in the pen for use as a roosting area.  The pen will soon be the winter home for a group of young whooping cranes which will be the first to arrive at this newly established wintering site.  When completed, the oyster reef will provide a secure roosting area where the young cranes can get in the habit of roosting in water, a behavior essential to protection from predators.

The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) has been releasing young whooping cranes since 2001, as part of an ongoing project to reintroduce a migratory population to eastern North America.  This population currently numbers 75 birds in the wild, in addition to the 14 birds currently being led southward behind ultralight aircraft.  For the first time this year, WCEP has decided to split the numbers of the 2008 cohort between the already established wintering site at Chassahowitzka NWR in Citrus County and the new site at St. Marks NWR.   This decision was made to prevent the possible loss of an entire cohort due to a catastrophic event, similar to that which occurred in February of 2007 as a result of lightning storms and high tides.  Project personnel will monitor the birds throughout their first winter, after which the young cranes will migrate back to Wisconsin on their own.