Fall Migration Ends

In the last few weeks we received new location data from our banded Siberian Cranes confirming that both birds have arrived on their wintering area in the Poyang Lake Basin (Jiangxi Province, China)! On November 25, we received a location for No. 59947 from the wintering area, and on December 6 we received a location for No. 59948 from a nearby area in the Poyang Lake Basin (see below image).

We will continue to update our online migration map during the winter, and we hope that you can join us in the spring as we follow the banded cranes on their return migration north to Russia. Researchers studying the banded cranes are excited to see what habitats the cranes use during the winter (do they use areas with high water or low water, etc.?), and they are especially interested to learn where the banded chicks return in the spring (do they return to the breeding areas in northeastern Russia or spend the summer in a different area?).

We also wanted to share with you some great images from the fall migration on birdnet.cn, a blog for birders to share information and news about birds in China.

Click on the following link to view images from Huanzidong Reservoir, Liaoning Province http://www.birdnet.cn/bbs/thread-34527-1-1.html (check out our blog posting from mid November on Huanzidong Reservoir for more information on this site).

A single Siberian Crane was also sighted in Zhejiang Province in eastern China on November 28, 2008. Click here, http://www.birdnet.cn/bbs/thread-36092-1-1.html, to view several up-close images of this beautiful bird.