New discovery about migration routes By A.Shililna, A. Sorokin, Yu.Markin
EB&W carried an item on Western and Eastern flocks of the Siberian Cranes. Elena Ilyashenko, head of the Siberian Crane Research Group based in Russia, has provided more details to EB&W which is being reproduced here:
On 17 November, 2020, Siberian Crane Flyway Coordinator Elena Ilyashenko sent us a photo and a request from Chinese specialists: what is known about the banded Siberian Crane (left leg – red and green color plastic rings, right – metal ring) which was found in a flock of Siberian Cranes in the Yellow River Delta (photo 1,2).
At the same time, this question was asked to specialists from Mongolia, China and Russia, who are conducting research on the eastern population of the Siberian Crane and conducting work on marking the Siberian Crane of this population.
Everyone answered that the Siberian Cranes of the eastern population were not marked with such a ring combination.
We checked our database of banded Siberian Cranes reintroduced into the wild in order to conserve and restore the West Siberian population.
The Siberian Crane, marked with a red and green ring on the left leg and a metal ring A 16030 on the right leg, was released at the age of about 3 months in 2003 in the breeding place of the Siberian Cranes in the Kunovat River basin (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, Russia) in a group of 6 Siberian Cranes .
According to the International Siberian Crane Stubook (2014), its number is 507, date of birth is May 16, 2003, name Olenek, sex -male.
Olenek was born in the Oka Breeding Center (Russia), he is costume isolated rearing bird.
India’s interest in this species is very long though the birds stopped visiting India’s Keoladeo National Park in 2002, presuming the Central flock became extinct.
Russian experts are continuing breeding of the birds at their Oka Breeding Centre in Russia hoping new discoveries to be received. One such is detailed above.
Thank you Elena, A.Shililna, A. Sorokin, Yu. Markin – editor, EB&W Portal.