Texas
Related: About this forumWhooping Cranes Are Nesting in Texas for the First Time in Over a Century
WHO: Two pairs of whooping cranes, one of the worlds most endangered birds.
WHAT: The animals are laying eggs in Texason private land in Jefferson and Chambers counties, east of Houstonfor the first time since the late 1800s.
WHY ITS SO GREAT: Every fall, the worlds last self-sustaining migratory flock of wild whooping cranes descends on the marshes of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. One of only two crane species native to North America, the whooping crane is the continents tallest and rarest bird: five feet high with crisp white feathers, a red-capped head, and a ratcheting, mournful call. The wild flocks 506 birds spend the winter in the 115,000-acre refuge, fattening up on blue crabs, clams, and fish, before traveling back to northern Canada to breed.
Birders from across the globe travel to Port Aransas every winter, seeking a rare chance to see whoopers and other migratory species. Theres even a Whooping Crane Festival each February (though it was scuttled this year due to the pandemic). But until now, the birds were just passing through. As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced this week, two pairs of whooping cranes are nesting in Texas for the first time in more than a hundred years.
Read more: https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/whooping-cranes-nesting-in-texas-for-first-time-in-over-a-century/
Whooping cranes along the Gulf Coast in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Wildnerdpix/Getty
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,786 posts)calimary
(81,589 posts)Gosh! I hope therell be more! Hopefully a new trend.
SunSeeker
(51,796 posts)Dan
(3,589 posts)TexasTowelie
(112,656 posts)During his period of probation, Constantin must complete 360 hours of community service related to wildlife conservation.
As part of the sentence, Constantins hunting privileges have been suspended until he completes the community service. United States Magistrate Patrick Hanna also ordered Constantin to pay a $10,000 fine and to pay $75,000 in restitution to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
In November 2019, Constantin was named in a federal bill of information for violating the Lacey Act in May 2016. Specifically, on May 20, 2016, Constantin and a juvenile, using .22 caliber rifles, shot at a pair of whooping cranes located in a field within Acadia Parish. One of the cranes, identified as L5-15, fell dead in the field, and Constantin and his accomplice retrieved its carcass. The other crane, identified as L3-15, flew too far north into another field so that it could not be retrieved, but investigators later recovered its carcass.
After retrieving L5-15s carcass, they noticed that it had transponders on its legs and received information that the bird was a whooping crane. Constantin and the juvenile transported the carcass to the juveniles residence, where they severed the legs from L5-15s carcass by using a knife and removed the transponders.
They then transported the knife, carcass, severed legs, and transponders along a nearby road and discarded the evidence. When initially approached by investigators shortly after the crime, Constantin lied about his involvement, causing the investigation to continue for nearly two more years before he finally confessed in April 2018.
Dustlawyer
(10,499 posts)Other hunters here would not be happy either if they knew about these birds being back and someone was poaching. Texas is very big on wildlife conservation. Our state government cares more about the wildlife than many people here.
rampartc
(5,455 posts)that is why they are so endangered.
i've never seen a whooping crane in the wild, but once on the mobile bay i was startled by the biggest bird that has ever been that close. the sandhill crane is a magnificent bird as well.
oh, here is the story i was looking for .....
https://thinkingafield.org/2020/07/federal-court-sentences-louisiana-man-for-killing-whooping-cranes.html
"Illegal shootings represent 30 percent of the known mortalities in the Louisiana non-migratory population of Whooping Cranes. This is the highest percentage of any of the wild populations of Whooping Cranes. Louisiana has the highest confirmed Whooping Crane shooting rate of any state or province, with 12 Whooping Cranes being poached since the start of the reintroduction in 2011."
ailsagirl
(22,906 posts)Arkansas Granny
(31,540 posts)As I recall, there were only 30 or so of them in the wild. They had been hunted to near extinction.
Laurelin
(538 posts)And all the many people I don't know who made this possible. It's thrilling news.