Pair nesting in Jeff Davis Parish produce celebrity chick, LDWF says
For the first time since 1939, a wild whooping crane chick is alive and well on the Louisiana landscape.
The new hatchling in Jeff Davis Parish represents another milestone for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ efforts to reintroduce the birds back into the state, which started more than five years ago at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in Vermilion Parish.
“This is something we’ve been looking forward to and anticipating since the reintroduction began in 2011,’’ LDWF biologist Sara Zimorski, who leads the Louisiana whooping crane project, said. “One of the major steps in restoring the species is successful reproduction. We’ve had several pairs nesting the last couple of years, but until now no favorable outcomes. It’s an exciting time for us and all of our partners who have worked so hard alongside us.
“This couldn’t have been done without the assistance of private landowners. The support and cooperation of the many landowners and farmers on whose property the birds spend time is critical to the success of the project.’’
The chick’s parents are a 3-year-old male and a 4-year-old female that paired this winter and produced their first egg in mid-March, according to a press release.
The White Lake WCA location in Vermilion Parish provides temporary shelter for the birds before their release into the wild. The cranes which make up the Louisiana population were raised at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md.
Whooping cranes are large-bodied, white birds similar to white ibis, white pelicans and wood storks, all of which must be distinguished from legally-hunted snow geese.
However, a red head and black facial markings along with a height of 5 feet and a wingspan of 7 to 8 feet make them very distinctive. In flight, whooping cranes display black wing tips and fully extended neck and legs, which go well beyond the tail.
Juvenile whooping cranes are primarily white with some cinnamon-brown feathers remaining on their body, primarily on their head and neck. Their wing tips are black like an adult, but they lack a red head.
Anyone witnessing suspicious activity involving harassment or shooting of whooping cranes is advised to report that information to LDWF’s Enforcement Division by calling 1-800-442-2511, or using the tip411 program, which may offer a cash reward for information leading to arrests or convictions.
