Whooping Cranes Visit Oklahoma's Hackberry Flat

Conservationists cheered with the news that a small flock of whooping cranes, one of North America's rarest bird species, made a recent migration stop at Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwest Oklahoma.

The temporary layover by the migrants is doubly significant. First because there are only 195 wild-born whooping cranes left on the planet; and second, because this type of visit is one reason why the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and its partners devoted themselves to restoring the historic wetland.

"We couldn't have written a script any better ñ we spent several years bringing back the wetland ecosystem which disappeared nearly 100 years ago, and the very year it's completed have it visited by one of the rarest wetland species in the country," said Mark Howery, natural resources biologist for the Wildlife Department.

As with much of North America's wildlife, settlement of the west took it's toll on whooping cranes. Birds were killed for food and the wetlands in which they nested and fed were converted to other uses. By 1941 the population had been reduced to just 15 to 20 birds. But compared to the whitetailed deer, elk, and wild turkey, the whooping crane's comeback has been slow.

"Migratory birds are inherently difficult to manage because their range is so vast. Whooping cranes breed and nest each summer in northern Canada and winter on the Texas coast," said Howery. "You can't simply improve habitat at each end of the migration route without providing good stop-over points along the way. Having a high profile endangered species like the whooping crane visit Hackberry is really a testament to how important wetland restoration projects are for waterfowl and other birds. The 7,120 acre WMA is ideally located within the Central Flyway to provide a perfect short resting haven for migrating whooping cranes. But the endangered whooping crane isn't the only wetland species to have discovered this migration oasis. Sandhill cranes, black-necked stilts, greater yellow-legs, phalaropes, and a host of other wetland species are also taking advantage of Hackberry Flat.

"At the right times of the year, Hackberry can be a gold mine for bird watchers," said Howery. "Of course fall brings vast numbers of waterfowl southward, but many Oklahoma birders are traveling to Hackberry in the spring months to watch and photograph several unique shorebird species not commonly found in the state."

Open to the public year-round, Hackberry Flat WMA is located south of Frederick in Tillman county. For more information on Oklahoma's endangered species, specifically whooping cranes or Hackberry Flat WMA, contact the Wildlife Department at 1801 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405/521-3851 or www.wildlifedepartment.com.