In Search of Sandhill Cranes

Jordan Calvert, Don Kahl, and Lisa Clark
folding the net.

I tend to invite myself to a lot of places and in turn get invited.

Last semester, I was fortunate enough to weasel my way into a rocket net training hosted by Dr. Blake Grisham and Dan Collins of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The rocket net training was held on the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in Muleshoe, Texas.  I was first exposed to rocket netting through Texas Brigades during high school. At the time I don’t think I really realized the scientific impact that using rocket nets has on wildlife. Maybe it was because it was on turkey decoys or maybe it was because I just thought it was cool to see a net being fired with rockets.

I am now certified in the use of rocket nets.  Which is pretty cool, when you think about the explosives involved when used properly. This training was implemented to train professionals and a fellow graduate students in Dr. Blake Grisham’s lab who are currently studying distributions of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) in the United States. I jumped at the
opportunity to gain a new and different experience. Besides, who doesn’t love to go outside?

Byron Buckley, Kristen Linner and Jordan Calvert rolling up the net.

#Selfiewithasandhill

 There was classroom time, where we learned about the different types of explosives, safety precautions and uses of rocketnetting. When we got to go outside, we used a 40’x60’ net, which we folded. We also got to cut wire to make a circuit that would ultimately be connected to the explosives and fire the rocket. I felt like an electrician.

This was an amazing skill to get certified in. I hope I get to use rocket netting down the road, whether it is in a project I design or just getting to assist with a colleague.

Rocket net footage by Jordan Calvert and myself.

Courtenay Conring ground truthing with
cranes flying off in the background.

Speaking of colleagues, Courtenay Conring is a graduate school colleague, officemate and one of my closest friends. She is currently pursing a Master of Science in Wildlife, Aquatic, and Wildlands Science and Management, here at Texas Tech University in the Grisham Lab. She is studying the Lower Colorado River Valley population of Sandhill Cranes and their distribution. I was privileged to visit Arizona and California, as she asked for assistance from myself and and our friend Jordan, to do some ground truthing.

Last year, Courtenay used rocket netting as a means to capture and tag Sandhill Cranes with transmitters that record Global Position System points. These transmitters allow for the researcher to see where the bird travels throughout the day. This is important because the Sandhill Crane is a migratory species spending summers in the Arctic and winters in the southern United States. The Sandhill Crane is also a surrogate species for the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service in terms of strategic habitat conservation on the plains for all species. More information for surrogate species can be found here: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/science/surrogatespecies/

Courtenay has been collecting some amazing data, which she will be presenting later this year the Arizona/ New Mexico Wildlife Society Chapter meeting and Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society meeting.

Jordan and I assisted by driving around, taking GPS points, taking pictures, and my favorite capturing GoPro footage. I had never used a GoPro prior to this and wanted to experiment with it as best as I could. The GoPro footage provides additional information or “viewing” for people to see what her study site looks like. I will admit, wearing the GoPro on your head takes a lot of balance and looking into the mirror to make sure you are wearing it just right.

 Some GoPro footage I captured. Fastforward to 37 seconds to see some cranes flying overhead. 

One of my favorite experiences about this trip was the opportunity to go birding at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge and Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. I saw Sandhill Cranes! Seeing and hearing so many Sandhill cranes together made me think of Aldo Leopold. He writes:

"When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlies and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men."

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There (New York: Oxford University Press, 1949).

I think he is right in comparing cranes to a trumpet in the orchestra, but listening to the cranes I heard much more. I heard the drumming of 5-7' wings of over 200 crane. Maybe I heard this because it is not a daily affair for me to observe crane. Only recently have I started to pay closer attention to the birds I see and the birds I hear.

This is a video by Jordan Calvert. Hear the drumming wings of the Sandhill Cranes from 18-27 seconds.

While on these refuges I saw Snow Geese, Blue Phased Snow Geese, American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts. My favorite bird was definitely the Black-necked Stilts. They just look so fancy and ready to party in a tux at a moment’s notice.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to get certified in rocket netting, to do some ground truthing, and to hear the drumming wings of Sandhill Cranes.  I got to spend seven days with my best friends while getting to experience the outdoors and learn more about ArcGIS, satellites, and Sandhill Cranes. All of which are essential skills to being a natural resource scientist.

My friends Jordan, Courtenay, and the Big Maria (Me) Mountains , California.