“There they are!” she announces as a tiny squeak comes through.
The five-feet-high birds, the largest birds in North America, were released at White Lake Wetlands Conversations Area in 2011 and more birds introduced to the Louisiana wilds since the
She turns down a gravel road that parallels a crawfish pond, the red tops of crawfish traps bobbing up and down in the slight breeze. Just before she turns into the woods that back up to a small levee, the tweak on the receiver becomes stronger. Immediately in front of the DWF truck, although hundreds of feet away and visible only with binoculars, are a pair of Whooping Cranes. The five-feet-high birds, the largest birds in North America, were released at White Lake Wetlands Conversations Area in 2011 and more birds introduced to the Louisiana wilds since then, the latest at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge near Pecan Island. Last year, 25 juvenile cranes were released, the most birds reintroduced in Louisiana and nearly doubling the current cranes’ population. The massive birds prefer shallow wetlands like rice and crawfish fields and build their donut-shaped nests within the water to ward off predators, Zimorski said. Once reintroduced to Louisiana, they have headed for fields all over southwest Louisiana and in parts of east Texas. Even though these fields mimic a good habitat for them, their movement outside of the release areas was a surprise to wildlife officials. “The wetlands are what the cranes prefer,” Zimorski said. “But it caught us off guard. They’re birds and once they’re on their own they go where they want to go.” Since the birds now nest on private land, Zimorski must constantly locate them and make arrangements with the landowners, most of whom are happy to assist, she said. Last year, the first chick hatched in the wild — the first in Louisiana since 1939 — and is now a year old, which means the chick has moved away from the parents and now lives about a mile to the west. “They keep us driving quite a bit,” she said with a laugh.
Sara Zimorski
Zimorski knows where to find them but uses a receiver that hones in on transmitters located on the birds’ feet. The receiver buzzes and spurts out static — noise to most people — but Zimorski hears a faint sound.