By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
With fewer than 800 whooping cranes remaining in the wild, it's always a big deal when the migrating birds make a stop in Central Kansas. That rarity of the birds may also impact hunting. Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf said the first whooping cranes of the season were spotted early last week at Cheyenne Bottoms.
"Monday or Tuesday there was a pair of adult whooping cranes that was spotted on the south end of Cheyenne Bottoms," he said. "They were only seen the one day I know of, so I'm not sure if they headed out or could still be around. With these south winds we've been having, typically that holds them up for a little bit. Fall whooping cranes are a little bit more apt to stick around anyway. They're not in a big hurry getting south."
More than two dozen whooping cranes have been spotted around Quivira National Wildlife Refuge since the end of October, including two adults and a juvenile last Wednesday. Whooping and sandhill crane numbers will vary year to year, but Wolf said bird watchers have a better chance of seeing them in Stafford County. Whooping crane numbers have increased enough in recent years that they are becoming more difficult to track individually.
"The north end of Quivira is very common roosting habitat for the sandhill cranes," Wolf said. "Evenings and mornings, it works very well to go out there and watch them either come into roost at the wetlands or leave in the mornings to go feed in the fields. If you want to see cranes on the ground, Quivira tends to be a little bit better area. Here at Cheyenne Bottoms, we definitely see and hear them flying over, but it's less predictable where they actually spend some time on the ground."
The arrival of whooping cranes can impact hunting. Hunting is stopped completely when the birds are spotted around Quivira. Cheyenne Bottoms shuts down only the pools the cranes are using, and may also shut down goose hunting on the south end of the Bottoms.
"Most hunters just know that this time of year that that's a high probability of having whooping cranes around," Wolf said. "Typically, the hunters are really good at keeping track of the whooping cranes in the area so we don't have any issues."
Sandhill crane hunting is allowed in Kansas, generally west of Highway 183. The sandhill cranes that migrate through Kansas are one of nine crane populations in North America, and the largest at approximately 500,000 birds. CLICK HERE for more hunting information from KDWP.