Sandhill and whooping cranes
Subtitle: ancient voices over America's wetlands
By: Paul A. Johnsgard
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Lincoln; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 155
ISBN-13: 9780803234963
Subjects: Whooping crane; Conservation; Wetland birds; Bird watching; Cranes (Birds); Sandhill crane
Description: "Driving west from Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard remarks, Is like driving backward in time. "I suspect," he says, "that the migrating cranes of a pre-ice age period some ten million years ago would fully understand every nuance of the crane conversation going on today along the Platte." Johnsgard has spent nearly a half century observing cranes, from a yearly foray to Nebraska's Platte River valley to see the spring migration, To pilgrimages To The birds{u2019} wintering grounds in Arizona and nesting territory in Alaska. In this book he draws from his own extensive experience as well as the latest science to offer a richly detailed and deeply felt account of the ecology of sandhill and whooping cranes And The wetlands in which they live. Incorporating current information on changing migration patterns, population trends, and breeding ranges, Johnsgard explains the life cycle of the crane, As well as the significance of these species to our natural world. He also writes frankly of the uncertain future of these majestic birds, As cranes and their habitats face the effects of climate change and increasing human population pressures. Illustrated with the author's own ink drawings and containing a detailed guide to crane-viewing sites in the United States and Canada..."--P. 4 of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [121]-143) and index.
Table of contents: title: Lesser sandhill cranes : Pleistocene relicts from the tundra; title: The other sandhills : from sedge bogs to palm savannas; title: The whooping crane : still surviving despite the odds; title: Our cranes and their fragile future; title: Appendix : Crane viewing sites in the United States and Canada.