Artwork Connects Us All

Art is an important communications and education tool for the Three White Cranes project, as we strive to share information and experiences between three different languages and cultures. Recently we've received news about two art projects completed by Three White Cranes schools in the United States and China:

Each year Jan Weiler's third grade class at Golda Meir School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin learn about cranes through classroom activities, art projects and a class field trip to the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Jan recently emailed us images of her top three "craniacs" - students whose crane artwork were chosen as best in the class (the students and their artwork are pictured below). Thank you, Jan, for sharing this news, and congratulations to your student winners! Photos by Jan Weiler

We also would like to celebrate the students in the Xianghai Middle School art club in northeastern China. The students painted a new mural this fall in their village (click here to read about the first mural that the students painted last summer). The mural is entitled, "Build our home, hand in hand," and shows the Xianghai village past, present and future. ICF is sponsoring a video about this project, focusing on how the Xianghai students are learning about their environment and its problems, and how they are taking action through art and example to bring solutions to their community. We look forward to the student's next project and thank the Xianghai art club for sharing their inspiring story! Photos by Shi Yanqiu

Spring is in the Air

As we wait for the last snow to melt in the north, and the buds to open on trees and shrubs further south in the United States, we are also preparing for the northern spring migrations of wildlife throughout the world. Birds in the south are preparing for their northern flights and are gaining extra fat to fuel their spring migrations, including cranes in North America, Europe and Asia.

Last fall, we tracked two young Siberian Cranes as they completed their first migration from Yakutia, Russia to their wintering area in the Poyang Lake Basin in China. We tracked both cranes over 3,000 miles as they journeyed south (see the migration map below) and have monitored their movements through the winter months. We've stopped receiving location data from one of the cranes (No. 59948), but we are still receiving periodic signals from the second crane, Bai He (formerly No. 59947).

We hope we can track Bai He as he begins his northern migration in a few weeks, to learn where young Siberian Cranes along the East Asia flyway spend their first summer away from their parents (researchers believe these cranes may spend their first summer in a different location from breeding adults).

We are also excited to be tracking a new Siberian Crane along the species' western flyway this spring. The crane, Neya, was raised in captivity at Oka Crane Breeding Center in western Russia and released on the western population's wintering grounds in northern Iran in December 2008. Neya has paired with a male Siberian Crane that returned to the wintering grounds in fall 2008 (see image below - Neya is on the left). We are hopeful that the two cranes will migrate together, so that we can learn where the cranes summer. The male Siberian Crane is the only confirmed remaining wild crane in the western population, so this migration is very special. There are unconfirmed reports of other Siberian Cranes along the western flyway, but we are not certain where they spend the summer.

We hope that you will join us in the coming weeks as we track the Siberian Crane spring migrations in Asia!

Tennessee and Florida Students Learn About Whooping Cranes

Like Gilchrist Elementary in Tallahassee, FL, many schools along the eastern crane flyway have been learning about Whooping Cranes this fall and winter. As the young Whooping Cranes completed their first fall migration through the eastern United States, ICF's Outreach Coordinator, Joan Garland, visited schools to share stories and updates on the migration and Whooping Crane conservation. Following are three images from Joan's school visits in Tennessee and Florida. If you would like to share photos or updates from your classroom activities, please email your images and stories to trackingcranes@savingcranes.org.

A student models a crane costume, designed to hide the human form from young Whooping Cranes, at Citrus Springs Middle School, Citrus Springs, FL.

Students learn about Whooping Cranes at McCallie Elementary School, Chatanooga, TN.

Joan and a student volunteer explain the use of the crane costume at Hammett Bowen Elementary School, Ocala, FL.