About the Central Coast Sandhill Crane Project

Very little was known about sandhill cranes and their habitat on the central coast when we started this study. The project began in 2006 with a pilot study lead by Dr. Briony Penn, with members of the Heiltsuk Nation, and continues as Krista’s master’s degree research project through the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria, with two successful seasons of fieldwork and outreach in 2007 and 2008. The goals of the project are:

1. To identify and protect crane habitat on the B.C. coast,

2. To study the unique natural history of cranes summering on the coast,

3. To educate the public about these birds, their coastal habitat, and threats to both.

Field Research

Sandhill cranes haven’t survived for 9 million years because their nests are easy to find, and in this remote archipelago with few roads and wild weather it takes a fair amount of effort to track them down. Reports of crane sightings from local people and cruising vessels are extremely valuable.

We’ve been incredibly fortunate to receive a donation of helicopter time through the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, to support surveys during the breeding seasons from 2006-2008. Using a small R-44 helicopter, we  surveyed  high-potential habitat (areas with upland bog complexes within about 1 km of the shoreline) on the inner and outer islands between Hunter and Aristazabal islands, within Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xaixais, and Gitga’at First Nations territory. We don’t consider our surveys to be complete inventories however, as we have left out lower-potential habitat – areas with few wetlands, further inland, and farther from estuaries – in order to maximize the number of nests located.

The R-44 making a quick landing on a rising tide

Our new floating, cruising research station/home, the S.V. Klaskish

We also used boat surveys to look for cranes along the shoreline, and ground surveys to search for cranes, tracks, feathers, and droppings in the forest and upland wetlands from May to August. During the helicopter surveys, we recorded the coordinates of all crane sightings and possible habitat. Afterwards we used boats, boots, and GPS to ground-check these sightings, to find out whether cranes are nesting or roosting at those locations or at nearby bogs.

Bog-walking can be dangerous! The mud can suck you right under...

We aim to be as non-invasive as possible in our fieldwork, and to cause minimal disturbance to the cranes and their habitat. It was partly for these reasons that I chose to focus my MSc. research on a) describing crane nesting habitat for a set of nests on the central coast, and b) changes in crane diet throughout the breeding season. The first study was conducted after cranes left their nests, and the second study was based on the collection of droppings when cranes were not around. With the help of field assistants Ingmar Lee and Jaimie Harris, and several volunteers, I collected data on water depth around nest islets, nest pool size, vegetation around the nest pool and a number of other variables. Satellite imagery and air photos were used to measure distances between nests and the shoreline, disturbed areas, and other landscape features. We collected droppings from a small number of nest and roost sites every two weeks to study changes in diet. Stay tuned for a summary of the results of this research!

We hope to carry on looking for crane sites and studying crane behaviour on the coast in 2009. We are currently looking for new sources of funding for boat-based inventory work. Please contact me if you think you can help! Send an email to coastalsandhillcrane@gmail.com

Krista, Jaimie, Sarah, and Ingmar: most of the 2008 field crew

Benefits of the Research – Conservation

Under the requirements of B.C.’s Forest and Range Practices Act, the Ministry of Environment has established an Identified Wildlife Management Strategy [IWMS] for Sandhill cranes, which provides management guidelines with respect to forest and range activities that may negatively affect the species. As the IWMS allows for protection of critical breeding habitat, all of the nest sites and several roost sites identified in this study that are not currently within protected or conservancy areas have been proposed for Wildlife Habitat Area designation [WHA]. Forest and range activities are restricted in WHAs.

I have also shared information on nesting, roosting, and foraging locations to First Nations communities in whose territories they occur, to aid in land use and conservation planning.

Sponsors

This project was supported by the National Science and Engineering Research Council, the Ministry of Environment – Ecosystems Branch, MITACS ACCELERATE BC Industrial Internship Program, the West Coast Crane Working Group of the International Crane Foundation, and Raincoast Conservation Foundation.