How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2015 Observation of Sandhill Cranes’ (Grus canadensis) Flight Behavior in Heavy Fog
Eileen M. Kirsch, Michael J. Wellik, Manuel Suarez, Robert H. Diehl, Jim Lutes, Wendy Woyczik, Jon Krapfl, Richard Sojda
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The behaviors of birds flying in low visibility conditions remain poorly understood. We had the opportunity to monitor Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) flying in heavy fog with very low visibility during a comprehensive landscape use study of refuging cranes in the Horicon Marsh in southeastern Wisconsin. As part of the study, we recorded flight patterns of cranes with a portable marine radar at various locations and times of day, and visually counted cranes as they departed the roost in the morning. We compared flight patterns during a fog event with those recorded during clear conditions. In good visibility, cranes usually departed the night roost shortly after sunrise and flew in relatively straight paths toward foraging areas. In fog, cranes departed the roost later in the day, did not venture far from the roost, engaged in significantly more circling flight, and returned to the roost site rather than proceeding to foraging areas. We also noted that compared to mornings with good visibility, cranes flying in fog called more frequently than usual. The only time in this 2-year study that observers heard young of the year calling was during the fog event. The observed behavior of cranes circling and lingering in an area while flying in poor visibility conditions suggests that such situations may increase chances of colliding with natural or anthropogenic obstacles in the vicinity.

© 2015 The Wilson Ornithological Society
Eileen M. Kirsch, Michael J. Wellik, Manuel Suarez, Robert H. Diehl, Jim Lutes, Wendy Woyczik, Jon Krapfl, and Richard Sojda "Observation of Sandhill Cranes’ (Grus canadensis) Flight Behavior in Heavy Fog," The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 127(2), 281-288, (1 June 2015). https://doi.org/10.1676/wils-127-02-281-288.1
Received: 3 March 2014; Accepted: 1 November 2014; Published: 1 June 2015
KEYWORDS
Grus canadensis
Horicon National Wildlife Refuge
low visibility
marine radar
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top