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14TuesdaySeptember22014ENVIRONMENTWILDLIFEBiologistswrapupannualWBNPwhoopingcranestudiesSlightlyfewerchickscountedthaninpastyearssurveyorsByDALICARMICHAELBiologistsatWoodBuffaloNationalParkWBNParewrappinguptheirannualresearchthatlooksintoendangeredwhoopingcranechicksborninthehabitatyearafteryear.RecentaerialsurveysconductedinAugustbytheCanadianWildlifeServiceCWSanarmofEnvironmentCanadashowthatslightlyfewerwhoopingcraneedglingspernestwerebornthisyearcomparedtopastmatingseasons.OurmainobjectiveofthissurveyistodeterminehowmanyedglingsthereareandcomparethattothenumberofnestsweobservedearlierintheyearsaidMarkBidwellaspeciesatriskbiologistandCana-dianwhoopingcranerecoverycoordinatorwithCWS.Thatgivesusanestimateoftherelativesuccessthatcanbecomparedfromyeartoyear.ThepreliminarynumbersaresubjecttochangeandarenotlowenoughtocausealarmforconservationistsBidwellclaried.Anearlylookatthenumbersshowsthatthesurveycrewcounted30familiesofwhoopingcraneswith32edglings.Thesurveycrewalsocounted43pairswithoutchicksandourpreliminaryanalysisisthatthenumberofedglingspernestwasabout0.39.Thatnumberisveryclosetolastyearsresultwhichwas0.38.Bidwellsaidthenumberswereinthenor-malrangeofvariationforthespecieswhichconservationistshavebeenworkingtosavesinceitspopulationdippedtolessthan20birdsthe1940s.Whoopingcranesarepro-tectedinCanadabyspeciesatrisklegislation.Thepopulationnowsitsatover300birdsthoughBidwellsaidtheirvastterritoryinWBNPmakesitimpossibletocounttheen-tireockandaccountforthisyearsjuveniles.FledglingslearningtoysoloOverthesummertheyoungwhoopingcranesspendtheirdaysenjoyinghealthycoursesofwetlandinsectssmallamphibiansandoccasionallyrodentsastheybuildtheirstrengthinpreparationfortheirrstlong-haulmigrationtowinteringgroundsinAran-sasTexas.ItsreallyallabouttheadultsmakingsurethatthebirdsgainstrengthandsizesaidStuartMacmillanmanagerofresourceconservationforWBNP.Itsimportantthatthechickslearntoforageforthemselves.TheockstartstotakeoffonitsjourneyasearlyasmidAugustbutitreallydependsonwhenthejuvenilesgrowtheirlongfeathersanddeveloplong-distanceyingcapabilities.Ittakesyoungwhoopingcranesbetween80and100daystobecapableofsustainedightBidwellsaid.NoimpactfromwildresBothBidwellandMacmillansaidthatde-spitewidespreadforestresthatravagedtheparkthissummerneitherthewhoopingcranesnortheirhabitatwerenegativelyaf-fected.Infactresoftenrefreshthebirdsecosystemdrawingoutandrecyclingnutri-entsintheecosystem.Werenottooconcernedabouttheim-pactofreitselfonthecranesandhabitatbecausethecraneshaveevolvedinthisbo-realhabitatandlandscapewherethereisgoingMacmillansaid.Hesaidtheonlyissuesseemedtoarisewhencrewsattemptedtoconductburnoutsnearwhoopingcraneterritorydisturbingthenestingbirdsattheirmostsensitivetimeofyear.Toavoidanytragedieshesaidrecrewswereinstructedtousemodiedsup-pressiontacticsinthoseareas.PhotoJanePetersonParksCanadaWoodBuffaloNationalParkTwowhoopingcranesandtheiredglingarespottedinWoodBuffaloNationalParkduringtheCanadianWildlifeServiceaerialsurveysconductedinmidAugust.