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Reintroduction

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Introduction

Satellite telemetry has big advantages of marking cranes by plastic and metal rings. For example, during 20 years 150 Eurasian Cranes have been colour banded and data from only 12 birds (most of which died) have been received. Colour banding didn’t work well due to lack of attention from the human population. In the past Siberian Cranes have been marked with metal and plastic rings only, before the PTT technology became available.

Satellite transmitters should be placed on juvenile Siberian Cranes since there is insufficient data about movements of young birds after their first year of life, and other important information on migration routes is lacking. However, the costs and quality of PTTs must be reviewed and compared, since one PTT costs ~3,000 USD and 1,500 USD per year for data transmission. It is also very expensive and difficult to capture birds (helicopters were required for surveys in remote breeding grounds and the birds can be captured only when they leave the damgah in Iran.

Design of transmitters is changing rapidly. Currently, there were light backpacks (95 grams) that can be attached with Teflon ribbon designed to fall off bird; however, this design requires special skills to attach safely to growing chicks. There were also leg band PTTs (30 grams) that stay on permanently and are easier to attach. Duty cycles can be set to send signals on optimal schedules to save battery life.

Satellite telemetry units (i.e. Platform Terminal Transmitters or PTTs) placed on birds on both the wintering and breeding grounds have identified a route that overlaps significantly with the northern portion of the route of the Central and Western Population. To accurately locate the breeding grounds of the Iran birds, a wild male was captured and marked with a PTT and was tracked along its migration route to its breeding territory in the Uvat Region of Russia. According to PTT data, migration routes of both the western and central populations coincide between north Kazakhstan and Uvat District of Tyumen Region (Russian Federation). This suggests that genetic mixing between the two populations occurs. Unmated birds from one population (i.e. juveniles, divorced birds, or birds that lose a mate) might pair with birds from the other population during migration or on summering areas of juveniles and non-breeding birds.

In 1998, a PTT was placed on a pre-fledged juvenile Siberian Crane reared by the last pair of Siberian Cranes known on the breeding grounds. The bird’s movements were tracked across Asia and ended in central Afghanistan. Several days later the parents arrived at KNP in India. The fate of the young crane is unknown, but it is thought that it may have been shot in Afghanistan.

By placing a PTT on a Eurasian Crane on the Kunovat breeding grounds of the Siberian Crane, it was determined that some Eurasian Cranes spent the winter along the border between Afghanistan and Iran. Both members of a pair of Eurasian Cranes fitted with PTTs were followed from Keoladeo National Park (KNP), India, to presumed breeding grounds of the cranes near Novosibirsk, Russia. This pair returned the following winter to KNP. These fragments of information suggest that Eurasian Cranes at the northern limit of the distribution of breeding (the Kunovat Basin where Siberian Cranes also breed) migrate to more northern regions of the wintering distribution of Eurasian Cranes (border areas of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, also Afghanistan and Uzbekistan). In like manner, Eurasian Cranes breeding at more southern regions of the breeding area (Novosibirsk), perhaps winter at more southern regions of the wintering distribution (India). But the PTT placed on a Eurasian Crane from the flock in the south of Tyumen Region (where Eurasian Cranes come from the north part of West Siberia) before fall migration showed that this Eurasian Crane flew from Tyumen Region to the to the estuary of the Indus River in Pakistan.

Satellite tracking studies show that there is a possibility that Siberian Cranes, parent-reared by Eurasian Cranes on the breeding grounds of the Central Population of Siberian Cranes, may spend the winter along the Iran-Afghanistan border. In addition, costume-reared Siberian Cranes released at Belozersky Federal Refuge (Zakaznik) in Armizon District in the south of Tyumen Region might join flocks of Eurasian Cranes and winter in Iran. Because Siberian Crane chicks probably require supplemental feeding during migration, it is important to provide supplemental food during the winter and to monitor the released cranes to determine if they can survive without supplemental feeding from the adults.

In 2002/03, three juvenile Siberian Cranes raised in Oka Crane Breeding Centre, were released in the Fereydoon Kenar area. Read more>> One of the juveniles, a parent-reared female joined the wild single Siberian Crane and departed the wintering place together with it and a wild pair on 2 March 2003. This bird was marked with colour bands and PTT and was tracked along the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and further to Dagestan, Russia. The PTT signal stopped moving in Dagestan on 4 March and PTT data continued to arrive from the same general area until 10 June 2003 . Although ground searches and interviews of the local people were conducted, the fate of this bird is unknown. Read more>> Two other costume-reared juveniles did not join the wild Siberian Cranes. They were caught and transferred to an aviary in the education centre of the Bujagh National Park, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Future needs have been identified for the research along the eastern (learn about spring migration and juvenile summering areas; place PTTs on 4 juveniles at Kytalyk in August 2005 under UNEP/GEF SCWP funding) and western (learn summering area of wild juveniles under UNEP/GEF SCWP funding and monitor released birds under CMS funding) flyways. The latest PTT data for the central population had been received in 1998, but there may be a possibility that the same pair can use different migration routes in different years. The ultimate goal is to place satellite and radio transmitters on all birds in Western and Central populations, and the Iran representative offered to try to find funding in his country.

Reports

2004

Data on banding of Siberian Cranes reared in captivity and released in migration stopovers in Russia (Belozersky Refuge, Tyumen Region, and Astrakhan Nature Reserve) in August and in November 2004 are summarized in the Table below.

Banding of released Siberian Cranes in 2004

For more information:

Yuri Markin

Oka Biosphere State Nature Reserve

2003

Data on banding of Siberian Cranes reared in captivity and released in Kunovat River Basin, West Siberia, Russia (breeding place), in August of 2003 and in Fereydoon Kenar Damgah, Mazandaran Province, I. R. Iran (wintering place), in December of 2003 in summarized in the table below.

Banding of released Siberian Cranes in 2003

Name of Siberian Crane	Date of release	Place of release	Band on right leg	Band on left leg	Date of hatch in OCBC	Rearing technique
Kama	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Standard metal ring with number  16014 À	Bicolor black and white plastic ring	11 May 2003	Isolation rearing
Villui	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Standard metal ring with number  16027 À	Bicolor yellow-blue plastic ring	13 May 2003	Isolation rearing
Chunya	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Standard metal ring with number  16029 À	Bicolor green and yellow plastic ring	15 May 2003.	Isolation rearing
Olenek	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Standard metal ring with number  16030 À	Bicolor red and green plastic ring	16 May 2003	Isolation rearing
Ural	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Standard metal ring with number  16031 À	Bicolor red and white plastic ring	17 May 2003	Isolation rearing
Istra	12 August 2003	Kunovat Refuge, West Siberia, Russia	Bicolor red and yellow plastic ring	Standard metal ring with number   16032 À	24 May 2003	Parental rearing
Suna	26 December  2003	Fereydoon Kenar Damgah, Mazandaran Province, Iran	Green plastic ring with white number 03 and satellite transmitter #33244	Standard metal ring with number 185986	24 June 2003	Parental rearing
Vokhma	27 December 2003	Fereydoon Kenar Damgah, Mazandaran Province, Iran	Standard metal ring with number  À 145985	Blue-white-yellow plastic ring	2 June 2003	Parental rearing

For more information:

Yuri Markin

Oka Biosphere State Nature Reserve