Site description (2001 baseline):
The migratory Whooping Crane population has increased from 15 birds in 1941 to the current population of about 178 (a non-migratory population in Louisiana was extirpated in the late 1940s). The birds winter approximately 4,000 km south of their breeding range on the coast of Texas, mainly in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
In addition to Whooping Cranes, the area supports three to four pairs of the nationally endangered anatum ssp. of the Peregrine Falcon. A typical community of boreal forest and wetland birds is also present including Yellow-rumped Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and Bald Eagle, among others.
Specific conservation measures for Whooping Cranes within the park include controlled access to the nesting area as well as restrictions on low-flying aircraft. The Canadian Wildlife Service also conducts annual population surveys. Outside the park, threats include disturbance from vehicles, aircraft, hunting, and collisions with power lines. One of the more critical, uncontrollable threats to Whooping Cranes is drought. Such conditions reduce the abundance of amphibians and invertebrates upon which the cranes feed, and make it easier for predators to move about in the normally waterlogged terrain.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Whooping Crane Nesting Area and Summer Range (Canada). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/whooping-crane-nesting-area-and-summer-range-iba-canada on 25/12/2024.