MIXING OF TWO GREATER SANDHILL CRANE POPULATIONS IN NORTHEASTOREGON

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon hosts a small group of nesting greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida). There were no data on where these birds wintered, and we had no understanding of how these birds fit into the larger picture of western sandhill crane population delineation. ODFW began color-banding pre-fledging colts in 2007 and added satellite tracking with platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) in 2015. To date, we have captured 15 colts and 13 adults and marked them with color bands. We also fitted 1 colt and 8 adult cranes with PTTs. In fall 2015, all 3 PTT-marked birds traveled to wintering grounds in the Central Valley and Central Coast ecoregions of California. In fall 2016, of 5 PTT-marked cranes, 4 traveled to the Central Valley and Central Coast ecoregions of California. The fifth individual migrated south through Idaho and Nevada to the Lower Colorado River Valley. The PTT data from our study highlight the need for additional research on the validity of current western sandhill crane population divisions.