Crane Fest and Cranberries

Cranes and cranberries. Two great reasons for me to take a day trip to Necedah to attend the Crane Fest this weekend. On Saturday, the whooping cranes were flying early in the morning, practicing behind their “foster mom” ultralight airplane, and showing off for the crowd that gathered to watch their wing formations. Then in the afternoon, it was the cranberries turn to attract attention.

Cranberries are nearly ready for harvesting in central Wisconsin. We toured the Cranberry Creek Cranberry Farm just north of Necedah, and got a close up view of acres and acres of commercial cranberry marshes. The cranberries are planted in 4 acre beds which are laser leveled so there are absolutely no low spots that might collect water. The plants flower in late June-early July. (The flower resembles the head of the Sandhill crane from which the name cranberry is derived.) The plants bloom for 3 to 4 weeks and are pollinated by commercial honeybees. Soon after, the berries begin to develop and the cranberries ripen in 75 to 100 days.

The harvest is planned for the first week in October. The beds will be flooded to raise the cranberries for picking and then a circular beater will move through the plants to remove the berries from the vines. The cranberries are then pumped out of the bed, cleaned, and packed into semi-trucks and taken to a nearby processing plant. It’s really an elaborate process, but the berries look great right now.

I’ve been spiking my drinking water with cranberry juice instead of lemons for the last year. Seems like the least I can do to support the cranberry growers. After all, they are number one in the country.

Wired! Black Crowned Crane

The International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI maintains a collection of captive cranes, including several black crowned cranes, which helps their work in crane preservation: captive breeding and reintroduction into the wild. Their work also demonstrates endangered species management for the public, and facilitates breeding and education information elsewhere in the United States and abroad. It is the only place in the world where you can see all 15 crane species.

Black Crowned Crane

When I visited the Crane Foundation earlier this month, this crane was especially interested in my camera, and made several attempts to get a little too close. Maybe I didn’t ask for the appropriate model release!

The Black Crowned Crane is indigenous to the Sahel region of Africa. The ICF in coordination with Wetlands International has coordinated a conservation plan for these birds. There are approximately 40,000 Black Crowned Cranes in existence, and their numbers are declining.

The most serious threats to this crane species are illegal capture for the pet industry. An ancient tradition in West Africa to keep domesticated cranes in the household compounds persists to this day. But an additional threat is an intensified international trade in the birds in the last 30 years. Also degradation of the species’ habitat – the wetlands and grasslands of West Africa due to drought, destruction of tree cover and overgrazing – is a factor in their declining numbers.

A regional African program has been set up to provide alternative income opportunities for crane traders and for distribution of community-based information and conservation methods in Nigeria and the Sudan.

The Crane Foundation is currently in a re-building program, and many of the exhibits are closed. The new exhibits will open next spring.