Laserfiche WebLink
sightings). A map showing all of the spring and fall whooping crane sightings from 1943- <br />1999 in Nebraska is presented in Figure 3. <br />Austin and Richert (2001) also provide maps showing sightings in the central Platte River <br />region from 1943 -1999 for spring (Figure 4) and fall (Figure 5). <br />Aerial Surveys <br />The USFWS conducted aerial surveys from1984 -1989 to detect migrating whooping cranes <br />in the central Platte River region. Early morning flights were made along the river and <br />adjacent fields from April 2"a through April 20th, and October 15th through November 7th. <br />Approximately one -third of the scheduled flights were cancelled or terminated due to human <br />error, poor weather conditions, etc. During the five -year period of systematic surveys, only <br />one whooping crane group was sighted that was not already known from incidental reports to <br />be in the study area. In addition, some whooping cranes, known from incidental ground <br />observations to be in the area, were not detected during flights, and in one instance whooping <br />cranes that were being observed by ground crews were not detected from the air as a search <br />plane simultaneously flew over. The aerial survey protocol and reporting forms for each <br />flight are on file at the Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Island, Nebraska, Field Office <br />(reference for the above information ?) <br />Aerial surveys were also conducted by the Platte River Cooperative Agreement in the spring <br />and fall, 2001. Flights were flown simultaneously out of Grand Island and Kearny airports in <br />order to cover the entire study area in a timely manner. The flight transects began <br />approximately fifteen minutes prior to sunrise, and generally lasted about 1.5 hours. The East <br />Crew (out of Grand Island) surveyed the reach between Chapman and the Highway 10 <br />(Minden) Bridge (Bridge segments 1 -7), and the West Crew (out of Kearny) surveyed from <br />Highway 10 to Highway 283 (Bridge segments 8 -13). The whooping crane survey protocol <br />and reporting forms are on file with the Cooperative Agreement Executive Director's office. <br />The spri% 2001 survey consisted of early morning aerial flights made along the river from <br />March 18t through April 30th. Of a possible 44 morning flights, the West Crew flew 25 <br />(57 %) missions while the East Crew flew 30 (68 %); however, 2 of the East Crew flights <br />were prematurely aborted (April 9 & 10). Fog, low ceiling, precipitation, and high winds <br />were factors in cancellations. <br />Five riverine sightings of a single whooping crane out of a possible 10 opportunities (i.e. <br />days when a whooping crane was known to be in the area) were recorded. This translated to <br />a 50% detectability rate. No whooping cranes were detected along the upland (eastbound) <br />transects. <br />Six possible whooping crane sightings were recorded as follows: <br />March 24- 1 individual in flight east of Trust's bunker blind on Mormon Island Crane <br />Meadows; <br />March 25- 1 individual same as March 24; <br />April 2- 2 individuals on river near NE border of Wyoming Land; <br />Draft Baseline Report — Whooping Crane Section 7 <br />