The RHN Bird Group convened at Mike Turk’s place for a discussion of these two cranes. Below is a condensed version of the information presented at the meeting, by Martin Chen, Gene and Charlene Denzel, Harold and Muriel Farrant, Barbara Jackson, Theo Hofmann, and MIke Turk .

First on the table was the Sandhill Crane, which is one of the only two crane species in North America (of 13 worldwide). This bird comes in 6 sub-species or races, of which the local one (nesting as near as the Carden Alvar area) is the Grus Canadensis Tabida (Greater Sandhill Crane), somewhat larger (and with a 50% longer bill) than the ones which breed in the Arctic (including far Eastern Siberia) and sub-Arctic. All of these winter in the area from Southern California across the lower Southern US and North Central Mexico, and 75-80% of the migrating birds stage on the upper Platte River in Spring migration. The main differences amongst the populations is size, but even in mixed flocks (say at the famous gatherings on the Platte River) they are not always easy to distinguish. The Southern races (in Cuba, Florida, and Mississippi) are essentially sedentary .

The birds range in weight from roughly 3.3KG to 4.3 kg for females, and 3.8 kg to 5.4 kg for males, and up to 120cm in height. Wingspans range from 160 to 210 cm.

There are upwards of 500,000 in the total poppulation, more than the total of all other crane populations in the world. They seem to be spreading out as suitable habitats are er-established, and their primary threat in general is degradation of habitat which consists of open wetlands, shallow marshes and wet meadows, plus over-hunting in some areas. Historically they were hunted for food and sport, and sometimes by farmers because of their penchant for grains. (When large flocks of Sandhill Cranes descend on a freshly planted field, they can take so much seed that the field may need to be replanted! There is work going on to find an economical treatment for seeds which will discourage the birds from foraging to this destructive extent.)

They are omnivorous, but especially in Winter do like to visit farm fields for grains.

This species shares with all cranes the graceful, stately courtship dances, with the tossing of sticks, rocks, or tufts of grass included in the ballet. Anyone who has had the opportunity to witness one of these dances will attest to the magic. When flying they are easily distinguished from herons and egrets by the stretched out form, with straight neck and legs extending from the body, plus a distinctive slow rolling down-stroke and quick upstroke of the wings. Their calls (often heard in the evenings if canoeing in parts of Killarney Park in July, for instance) are quite noticeable and identifiable as well.

The Whooping Crane (Grus Americana) is the tallest bird in Norh America, ranging from 130-160 cm in ht (51-63 in), and 4.5-8.5 kg in wt. (9.9-18.7 lb), with a wingspan of 200-230 cm (78.7-90.5 in). To better appreciate its size, consider that it is 7 times heavier and 30 cm (a foot) taller than the Great Egret, and almost 3 times the weight of the Great Blue Heron, birds which are locally familiar. They also fly with extended neck and legs, as with the Sandhill Cranes, in diistnction from herons and egrets, and their long stratight bill is quite different from a stork’s.

As with the Sandhill Cranes, these birds are omnivorous, eating grains, fish (such as eel), crustaceans, berries, etc., perhaps more inclined to animal material. They also have a stately courtship dance, and similar foraging behaviour.

It’s population status is the complete opposite of the Sandhill Crane, in that its population declined to 15-16 birds in the wild in 1941! A concerted effort to protect and nurture this magnificent species has built them back up to 232 in the flock which breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park (in Alberta and the Northwest Territories) and winters in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, another 53 in an experimental non-migratory flock established near Kissimee Florida. A third population which has involved an attempt to establish a new flyway between a breeding ground in Wisconsin and wintering ground in Florida, with the birds being trained on the migration route by following an ultralight aircraft and had reached 82 birds as of January, suffered a devastating blow this month when 17 of the migrating first-year birds were killed in the huge storms in Florida. (For more about this, see the migration project. ) Besides these wild populations, there are some 145 in captivity. Clearly the species is still in a very precarious situation.

In addition to major habitat loss, the Whooping Crane suffers from potential nest and brood predation from bears, wolverines, wolves, lynx, and Ravens. Adults are only subject to the bobcat, being more likely to suffer from hitting power lines. Of course, as with all large birds, it is also subject to ‘accidental’ shooting.

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The February 2007 edition of the Richmond Hill Naturalists newsletter, “The Bulletin” is now available. In this issue:

• Greenspaces are making a comeback
• Learn more and get involved to Strengthen Ontario’s Endangered Species Act!
• The Concept Plan for a new ‘Lake Ontario Park’
• New Book by Paul Hawken: “Blessed Unrest”
• Ontario expands Rouge Park by an additional 1,500 acres
• More news and events

Many of us have seen the great Redwoods and sequoias and the Douglas Firs of the west, and been awestruck by their majestic and ancient vigour, and yet we tend to forget that Southern Ontario was once home to its own gigantic and long-lived trees, the white pines. Greatly desired for ship-building and construction, they were logged nearly to extinction when Europeans first came here. Only a handful of the eldest now remain, and the younger generation of this species faces intense pressure and hardship. Hamilton-based botanist and landscape designer Paul O’Hara shares his botanical passion, science and talent for story-telling to lead all of us to a deeper understanding of what has been lost, and what may yet be gained.

We were fortunate to experience his presentation at the Richmond Hill Naturalist club meeting on Feb 15th. Beginning with a painting of Oakville from the middle of the 1800s, where a host of white pines can be seen towering above the forest canopy, O’Hara led the naturalists on a surprisingly gripping vision quest centred on the life cycle of the White Pine. But “The Faithful Witness” goes much deeper than a typical life cycle story. Lighting the way with a series of beautiful photographs of the many plants who share space with the White Pine during its long decades of childhood and adolescence, he both teaches us about the natural cycle of change and makes us viscerally aware of the crossroads where we stand in time and space.

If you have even a passing interest in nature you won’t want to miss O’Hara’s multimedia presentation. He’s due to tell the story again at the Halton Eco-festival March 31-April 1. You can find out more at his website www.blueoak.ca

White Pine Photo by emrld_cicada

On a cold but mostly sunny morning, 13 hardy souls from the Richmond Hill and Simcoe Naturalists joined Ron Fleming at a Tim’s in Newmarket to go in search of Snowy Owls and whatever else could be found in the Holland Marsh area. After pooling our cars, we first headed NW toards the area adjacent to Hwy 400, where we cruised the labrynth of back roads snaking amongst the canals and windswept fields. Along the way we had seen nothing except a few red-tailed Hawks and one large flock of Crows (30 or so). We were in search of the right-shaped lumps out in the fields, but turned up only a number of white buckets and other detritus. We did come across a large mixed flock of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings feeding in a field, and parked to try scoping them. The wind was really fierce, but those who braved the cold were rewarded with good views of both species. We did see one interesting house with a huge flock of Starlings clustered around the chimney. Having exhausted the likely haunts in this area, Ron led us next up to where Bathurst deadends in the Holand River, in hopes of Rough-legged Hawks or Northern Shrikes, while still scanning the fields for snowies. This area proved remarkably desolate, so we headed on across towards the Queensway. Just as some of our cars were managing to get through the very heavy traffic to head North on the Queensway, those in the rear were treated to really nice views of a pair of Rough-legged Hawks hunting in a valley alongside the road.

Having sated the appetite for this target species for at least some of our group, we headed on up to Ravenshoe Rd to try the fields along the isolated stretch of Yonge street which intersects the dead end of Ravenshoe. As we were passing through the bottom end of Keswick, we spotted a large flock of Snow Buntings feeding in a grassy field. For a few brief moments we had great views of the flock (100+ birds) wheeling over the field, showing off their black-and-white wing patterns in the bright sunlight. In moments they were swallowed up by a snow squall, so we headed on out to the fields which often yield snowies at this time of year. Many eyes scanning in all directions led to a grand total of no birds to be found in this whole stretch, so we decided to call it a day. A big part of the group headed for Jonathan’s Restaurant in Aurora for a very pleasant brunch.

Our thanks to Ron for his always welcome knowledge and enthusiasm in helping us hunt for these elusive creatures.

Ron Fleming and the group watch Horned Larks and Snow Buntings

Dozens of starlings huddle try to catch a few rays in Ansnorveldt.

Scanning the fields for Snowy Owls near Yonge and Ravenshoe Rd.

The folks at Ontario Nature want to know what young people in Ontario think about nature. They’ve announced their second annual youth writing contest and are asking all interested Ontario grade 7 and 8 students to submit entries by April 15, 2007. This year’s topic is “What will the environment be like in 2050?” Contest details are listed below, or download the Ontario Nature Youth Writing Contest flyer and distribute it to friends and colleagues.

What You Need to Know:

• You must be an Ontario grade 7 or 8 student.
• It can be an essay, a story, or a piece of creative writing, with a
• maximum count of 700 words, typed and double-spaced.
• The top three entries will be published in ON Nature magazine, the award-winning nature and environment magazine in Ontario.
• The winners will receive cool prizes for their work, and will be
• honoured for their achievement at Ontario Nature’s Annual General
• Meeting & Conference in Peterborough (June 8-10, 2007).

Send your original entries by April 15, 2007 to:

Youth Writing Contest Ontario Nature
366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 201
Toronto, ON M5V 1R9

Make sure you have a title page that includes title of your essay, your name, address, phone number, email address, your parent’s or guardian’s name, what grade you’re in, and the name of your school.

A hardy group of folks from the RIchmond Hill Naturalists met at the Kleinburg CoffeeTime on a relatively mild Saturday morning before heading over to Joan Love’s spread. Joan’s feeders as usual were attracting a nice variety of birds (Red- and White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Goldfinches, Junco’s, House Finches, CHickadees, Cardinals, Bluejays), but nothing exotic. A walk down through the river valley produced nothing of note. Upon heading down the hill back towards the house, a raptor was spotted at the top of a bare tree. Initial guesses were of Kestrel, but upon more close looks that was rejected. At a distance, through binoculars, it looked somewhat like a sHarp-shinned Hawk, but the tail was not right. Finally we brought a scope out and we all got a good look, including the eyebrow and tail markings, which all pointed to Merlin. As we were finishing our last looks at this very cooperative bird, another raptor flew into a tree on the other side of the house. This was undoubtedly a SHarpie, and gave us all a great chance to do the comparison.

Heading off up Major MacKenzie from Joan’s place, a Northern SHrike on the phone line was seen by a number of people. Up on the flats a number of raptors could be seen, the first couple being Red-tailed Hawks. The next one to show up was kind enough to land in a tree not too far from the road, and was clearly a (light-morph) Rough-legged Hawk. It was nice enough to take flight when people had it in their binoc’s, showing the neat ‘elbow patches’. While trying to scope the various hawks, a few folks tracked down some Song Sparrows and Field Sparrows down a side road/driveway. Seeing that a very long freight train was blocking the southward portion of McGilvary and Huntington Roads, we opted to head North up Huntington, along which more Red-tails and another Rough Legged Hawk were seen, as well as a Coyote in a field seen by a few.

Stoppping at the Nashville Cemetary, the group began a scanning of the row of cedars at the back, which quickly yielded what turned out to be 5 Long-Eared Owls. One took off over the cemetary, being harassed by a noisy flock of Blue Jays, but giving us all great looks.

Given the hour, it was agreed to head South now, in hopes that the train had crept out of our way. It had indeed and, along with a few more sightings of Red-tails, we had great luck at some freshly manured areas on a field on the East side, where a large number of Horned Larks were busy working over the bugs. A good chance for great scope views.

After these successes, we headed off to the pub in the Longchamps restaurant, which had a cheery fire going to help revive frozen toes and fingers. A pleasant lunch with lively discussion of the neat birds seen brought a nice outing to an end.