STATES/COUNTIES 

 Wood Buffalo-Aransas Population 

 Winter 



Texas Aransas, Calhoun. 



Known Migration Stops 



Kansas Barton, Reno, Stafford. 



Montana Roosevelt, Sheridan 



Nebraska Adams, Blaine, Brown, Buffa- 

 lo, Custer, Dawson, Franklin, 

 Gosper, Hall, Harlan, Kearney, 

 Keya Paha, Loup, Phelps, 

 Rock, Sherman, Thomas, 

 Valley, Webster. 



North 



Dakota Burke, Burleigh, Divide, 



Dunn, Emmons, McKenzie, 

 McLean, Morton, Mountrail, 

 Penville, Sioux, Ward, Wil- 

 liams. 



Oklahoma Alfalfa, Comanche. 



South 



Dakota Campbell, Corson, Dewey, 



Haakon, Hughes, Potter, Stan- 

 ley, Sulley, Walworth, Ziebach 



Grays Lake Experimental Population 



Winter 



New 



Mexico Luna, Socorro, Valencia. 



Mexico Chihuahua. 

 Known Migration Stops 



Colorado Alamosa, Canejos, Ouray, Rio 



Grand. 



Utah Uintah. 

 Summer 



Idaho Bonneville, Caribou. 



Montana Sweet Grass. 



Utah Uintah. 



Wyoming Sublette, Uintah. 



HABITAT 



The nesting grounds are marshy areas with 

 many potholes, which are generally shallow and 

 have soft, muddy bottoms. The pH is usually 

 between 7.6 and 8.3. Potholes are separated by 

 land areas with black spruce [Picea mariana), 

 tamarack (Larix laricitia), and willows (notably 

 Salix Candida), forming the canopy. The under- 

 story includes dwarf birch {Betula glandulosa). 



bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), and several 

 species of lichen. The ground is deeply carpeted 

 with sphagnum moss. Emergent vegetation in the 

 potholes used by cranes is mainly bulrush (Scir- 

 pus validus) (Novakowski 1966). 



The Wood Buffalo-Aransas population winters 

 on salt-marsh flats in coastal lagoons on the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Allen (1952) differentiated three 

 types used by cranes: (1) permanent pond, lake, 

 ditch, or bayou open to bay tides at all seasons; 

 (2) semipermanent ponds connected by narrow 

 bayous to permanent water areas; (3) ephemeral 

 ponds that offer superior feeding places. Typical 

 vegetation includes salt grass {Distichlis spicata), 

 saltwort {Batis maritima), glasswort {Salicornia 

 sp.), sea ox-eye [Borrichia frutescens), needle 

 cordgrass (Spartina spartinae), and saltmarsh 

 cordgrass [Spartina alterniflora) (Allen 1952). 

 Cranes will occasionally forage into the oak 

 {Quercus) brush region (Allen 1952), especially 

 after a fire. 



The major requirement for whooping crane 

 habitat selection, particularly during migration, 

 is an open expanse for nightly roosting. The 

 birds typically use sand or gravel bars in rivers and 

 lakes (43 FR 36588, 17 August 1989). 



Historic habitat includes interior tall-grass 

 prairies, sea-rim and brackish marshes, and 

 higher interior grasslands (Allen 1952). Some of 

 these habitat types are still used during migration. 



FOOD AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR 



Cranes are omnivorous, taking vegetation, in- 

 sects, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals 

 (Bent 1926). The whooper is more aquatic than 

 the sandhill crane and has a greater preference for 

 animal foods (Allen 1952). Prey species are listed 

 in Allen (1952) and Novakowski ( 1966). 



Summer foods were studied by Novakowski 

 (1966) and were determined to be primarily large 

 nymphal or larval forms of insects, and crustace- 

 ans. Terrestrial foods such as berries were taken 

 when abundant (Novakowski 1966). 



A greater variety of foods are taken in the 

 wdnter, and include grains, acorns, insects, marine 

 worms, crustaceans, mollusks, fishes, amphibians, 

 reptiles, and, very occasionally, birds (Allen 

 (1952). 



During migration, cranes feed while on mud 

 flats and sandbars. Allen (1 952) suggests that crust- 

 aceans, fishes, amphibians, and reptiles in the shal- 

 lows compose the bulk of the diet. Recent data in- 

 dicate that during fall migration, cranes often feed 



