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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Erin L. C. Harper, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; Danna L. Baxley, The Nature Conservancy
ABSTRACT: As the Eastern Population of greater sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis tabida) has increased, so has the number of cranes utilizing winter and stopover habitat in Central Kentucky. Few studies have addressed habitat use and management of the eastern population on wintering and stopover areas, especially on private lands. We quantified habitat use of cranes in central Kentucky and collected time activity data to determine how and when the resources were used and if the habitat available would provide sufficient resources to support the growing population. We collected activity budget data on 1,788 independent flocks during the winter months (2011-2014) from sunrise to sunset weekly by using instantaneous scan sampling of all flocks encountered. Cranes spent most of their time feeding, resting and on locomotion. Cranes spent more time alert as flock size decreased. Wetland was the most preferred habitat of cranes with 37% use and representing only 1% of the study area. Although acreage of available harvested soybean and cornfields was similar each year, cranes preferred cornfields as their main energy source, with 33% use. Corn use peaked in the afternoon as cranes fed heavily before returning to the roosts to rest for the night. Cranes used fields adjacent to roosts every year without preference for habitat type. Based on these results, we suggest managers encourage landowners to continue with the current agricultural land use practices and discourage any changes in practices that would reduce availability of grains or wetlands in important wintering and stopover areas.
Wednesday November 1, 2017 8:20am - 8:40am EDT
Carroll Ford