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migration (FWS 1984 a, p. 1) . The two yearlings spent a 14 -day stopover near <br />Moose Jaw in southern Saskatchewan, whereas the family group spent 18 days of <br />non - migration time farther north in the Glaslyn, Saskatchewan area. <br />2.7 HAB IT AT USE ALONG 7H E MIGRATION ROUTE <br />As stated previously (Section 2.6), most stopovers by migrating whooping cranes <br />consist of brief overnight flight breaks to feed and rest (roost and loaf). <br />Stopover sites typically selected by the birds offer an available food source <br />in combination with, or in close proximity to, standing or flowing water for <br />roosting. Following is a summary of the types of feeding and roosting habitats <br />used by whooping cranes during migration. <br />2.7.1 Food Habits and Feeding Habitat <br />Whooping cranes are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders. They appear to <br />easily adjust to whatever suitable plant and animal food items they encounter <br />at locations al ong the flyway. Among the plant foods reported by Johnson and <br />Temple (1980, pp. 47 -54) were shoots of emerging winter wheat, barley, wheat, <br />corn on the ground, and waste mil o in fields and cow droppings; animal foods <br />included egg masses of frogs and toads, beetles and other insects, small fish, <br />frogs, snakes, crayfish, and possibly snails and bivalve mollusks. <br />Johnson and Temple (1980, pp. 49 -52) documented 119 feeding sites used by <br />whooping cranes along the flyway, which included 14 upland and 10 wetland <br />habitat types (Table 2 -2) . They stated that there have been fewer observations <br />of whooping cranes feeding in wetlands and that use of wetlands typically <br />consists of foraging in the vicinity of roosts. Agricultural lands, mainly <br />fields of small grains, accounted for aver 70 percent of the known feeding <br />sites. Fi el ds of small grain stubble were generally used in the northern <br />portion of the flyway during both seasonal migrations, whereas f i el ds of <br />emerging small grains (predominantly winter wheat) were used in the southern <br />and south - central portions of the flyway, primarily in the fall. <br />Physical characteristics of wetland and upland feeding sites, as described by <br />Johnson and Temple (1980, p. 52), were as follows: <br />Wetland Feeding Sites: <br />"Feeding sites in wetland habitats are usually characterized <br />by shallow water (less than 18" -2 ft. deep; cranes will feed <br />in water up to their tail feathers), excellent horizontal and <br />overhead visibility, and either very sparse or very short <br />emergent vegetati on. " <br />A* <br />•iiff4M&n <br />"Feeding sites in upland habitats are usually characterized <br />by excellent horizontal visibility (often several hundred <br />yards in all directions), a lack of trees and shrubs <br />immediately around the site, short vegetation on the site <br />2 -10 <br />