Game and Parks Commission study shows whooping crane migration is changing

Endangered whooping cranes are migrating earlier in spring and later in fall, according to a newly published study by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources.
    The study reveals that since 1942 spring migration of whooping cranes occurs as many as 22 days earlier in spring and about 21 days later in fall. “Our study confirms casual observations that the timing of whooping crane migration is changing,” said Joel Jorgensen, the study’s lead author and Game and Parks’ nongame bird program manager. “The shift in timing appears to have accelerated since about 2000.”

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