MONTEZUMA - June 2003 will live on in the memory of John VanNiel.
VanNiel, a professor of conservation at Finger Lakes Community College, vividly recalled the events that took place one day that month on Carncross Road, close to Howland's Island.
While VanNiel and a colleague from the school, John Foust, were out fishing, Foust heard the distinctive sound of sandhill cranes.
VanNiel said knowing the birds migrated through the area and having seen them at several other sites across the country, he didn't think much of it at first, while he focused on paddling.
But it didn't take long for a moment of sudden realization to dawn.
“This was during a time when the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas was being put together,” VanNiel said. “And every birder in the area was scouring the state looking for birds and everyone was hearing about seeing sandhill cranes and everyone was starting to think the same thing, probably nester, and everyone was thinking the same thing, who was going to be the first to see them?”
And as VanNiel and Foust climbed up from their canoe, they achieved what VanNiel would call their 15 minutes of fame, being the first to sight a breeding pair of sandhill cranes along with a young crane in a field on Carncross Road.
“It was very exciting,” VanNiel recalled. “We were probably 50 yards away, this was amazing, a very exciting moment.”
Quickly, VanNiel, who has also been an active volunteer at the Montezuma Wetlands complex, called the office to find contact information for the state DEC to verify the nesting birds.
By afternoon, VanNiel and Foust had filled out forms declaring their find and had snapped a few digital photos for the breeding atlas.
This experience and excitement about the birds made VanNiel the ideal candidate for the latest in the Montezuma National Wildlife refuge's bird of the month series.
The series is done in conjunction with the Montezuma Audubon Center and Friends of the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. During his presentation, VanNiel looked at some of the history and physiology of the birds, beginning with the larger family of cranes in general.
“There are 15 species across the globe,” VanNiel said. “They are omnivores and they have several distinctive characteristics. They have long legs, long necks and relatively long beaks, which is generally determined by what they feed on.”
VanNiel said that two species, the whooping crane and the sandhill crane are the two native breeding species to North America, with pictographs and fossil records of cranes going back thousands of years.
And while the whooping crane is endangered, the sandhill crane has been thriving with an estimated population of 500,000 in North America.
But it has taken considerable effort to get the sandhill crane population back.
VanNiel compared the sandhill crane to the proverbial canary in the coal mine.
“In 1900 there was a severe dip in their population,” VanNiel said. “And it has taken over 100 years to get them back.”
This can be attributed to several factors, including hunting, which is still allowed in some Midwest states, but more prominently, the destruction of the birds' natural habitat, primarily wetlands, such as Montezuma.
VanNiel said a man named Aldo Leopold, who wrote Sand Crane Almanac, has come to be known as the “Father of Wildlife Conservation.”
“He saw management as conservation,” VanNiel said. “He wanted to conserve for future generations.”
In 1934, Leopold heard about two breeding sandhill cranes in Wisconsin and he promptly bought the 120 acres of land with the hopes that the animals would return and breed.
VanNiel said the site is now the Leopold reserve and comprises more than 1,000 acres and has a thriving population.
By the early part of this decade, VanNiel said spottings were becoming more prominent in the Montezuma area.
Through efforts at the state and federal level to dedicate Montezuma's lands to habitat protection, it has become an ideal place to spot the birds.
And since the initial find at Carncross Road, VanNiel said he has seen the birds return annually. VanNiel said that sandhill cranes can live up to 20 years, so he believes it is the same pair and they are bringing more young.
“It is a very exciting time,” VanNiel said. “This is really good news for these birds.”
To learn more
The bird of the month series will continue at the Montezuma Audubon Center at 2 p.m., Sept. 21 with a discussion hosted by Frank Morlock, a DEC wildlife technician, who will speak about shorebirds.
While VanNiel and a colleague from the school, John Foust, were out fishing, Foust heard the distinctive sound of sandhill cranes.
VanNiel said knowing the birds migrated through the area and having seen them at several other sites across the country, he didn't think much of it at first, while he focused on paddling.
But it didn't take long for a moment of sudden realization to dawn.
“This was during a time when the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas was being put together,” VanNiel said. “And every birder in the area was scouring the state looking for birds and everyone was hearing about seeing sandhill cranes and everyone was starting to think the same thing, probably nester, and everyone was thinking the same thing, who was going to be the first to see them?”
And as VanNiel and Foust climbed up from their canoe, they achieved what VanNiel would call their 15 minutes of fame, being the first to sight a breeding pair of sandhill cranes along with a young crane in a field on Carncross Road.
“It was very exciting,” VanNiel recalled. “We were probably 50 yards away, this was amazing, a very exciting moment.”
Quickly, VanNiel, who has also been an active volunteer at the Montezuma Wetlands complex, called the office to find contact information for the state DEC to verify the nesting birds.
By afternoon, VanNiel and Foust had filled out forms declaring their find and had snapped a few digital photos for the breeding atlas.
This experience and excitement about the birds made VanNiel the ideal candidate for the latest in the Montezuma National Wildlife refuge's bird of the month series.
The series is done in conjunction with the Montezuma Audubon Center and Friends of the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge. During his presentation, VanNiel looked at some of the history and physiology of the birds, beginning with the larger family of cranes in general.
“There are 15 species across the globe,” VanNiel said. “They are omnivores and they have several distinctive characteristics. They have long legs, long necks and relatively long beaks, which is generally determined by what they feed on.”
VanNiel said that two species, the whooping crane and the sandhill crane are the two native breeding species to North America, with pictographs and fossil records of cranes going back thousands of years.
And while the whooping crane is endangered, the sandhill crane has been thriving with an estimated population of 500,000 in North America.
But it has taken considerable effort to get the sandhill crane population back.
VanNiel compared the sandhill crane to the proverbial canary in the coal mine.
“In 1900 there was a severe dip in their population,” VanNiel said. “And it has taken over 100 years to get them back.”
This can be attributed to several factors, including hunting, which is still allowed in some Midwest states, but more prominently, the destruction of the birds' natural habitat, primarily wetlands, such as Montezuma.
VanNiel said a man named Aldo Leopold, who wrote Sand Crane Almanac, has come to be known as the “Father of Wildlife Conservation.”
“He saw management as conservation,” VanNiel said. “He wanted to conserve for future generations.”
In 1934, Leopold heard about two breeding sandhill cranes in Wisconsin and he promptly bought the 120 acres of land with the hopes that the animals would return and breed.
VanNiel said the site is now the Leopold reserve and comprises more than 1,000 acres and has a thriving population.
By the early part of this decade, VanNiel said spottings were becoming more prominent in the Montezuma area.
Through efforts at the state and federal level to dedicate Montezuma's lands to habitat protection, it has become an ideal place to spot the birds.
And since the initial find at Carncross Road, VanNiel said he has seen the birds return annually. VanNiel said that sandhill cranes can live up to 20 years, so he believes it is the same pair and they are bringing more young.
“It is a very exciting time,” VanNiel said. “This is really good news for these birds.”
To learn more
The bird of the month series will continue at the Montezuma Audubon Center at 2 p.m., Sept. 21 with a discussion hosted by Frank Morlock, a DEC wildlife technician, who will speak about shorebirds.
