Whooping Crane Summer Range
The range is a complex of contiguous water bodies, primarily lakes and various wetlands, such as marshes and bogs, but also includes streams and ponds. In addition to the whooping crane nesting area, the range includes two sites classified during the International Biological Program.
Because the area developed through wildfires, "no natural forest fires in the area are extinguished unless they threaten structural facilities or...leave the boundaries of Wood Buffalo National Park".
A whooping crane census in 1941 counted only 15 migratory birds. Currently, 178 migratory birds winter and breed in coastal Texas, primarily in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Annual population surveys are conducted by the Canadian Wildlife Service. A few breeding pairs of the peregrine falcon also nest in the range. Due to the significant threat of extinction of whooping cranes, access to nesting sites is strictly controlled, limited only to researchers and park staff, and low-flying aircraft are prohibited in the area.
References
- ^ "Whooping Crane Summer Range". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ "Ramsar and World Heritage Sites". Ramsar Convention Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Whooping Crane Summer Range, Alberta/Northwest Territories - Ramsar Site". Environment Canada. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Protected Areas and World Heritage - Wood Buffalo National Park". United Nations Environment Programme. Archived from the original on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Whooping Crane Nesting Area and Summer Range". Important Bird Areas of Canada. Retrieved 2007-08-03.