News & Events Diary

News | Diary

Ozcranes News has the latest from our four sections (Info, Research, Australia-New Guinea Cranes and Conservation). Our Diary lists crane-related events plus Natural Resource Management meetings in the Northern Gulf Region, which includes the main known Australian breeding area for Sarus Cranes.

Please contact us with your news items and events for the Diary.

Crane Week
Crane Art
Brolga Recovery News

Brolga Status Review
Diary

2012 Crane Week success

← Crane statues by Lotus Glen prisoners, at Malanda Dairy Centre (Elinor Scambler)

Congratulations to Gwyneth Nevard, Caroline Thiele and the volunteer organising team, who sucessfully launched the first Tablelands Crane Week in September. The inaugural Festival featured displays and a photo competition at Malanda Dairy Centre; talks by Ozcrane's Elinor Scambler and Tim Nevard from the Great Crane Project; and spectacular viewing of cranes flying in to roost at Bromfield Swamp. For superb photographs and much more, visit the Crane Week website.

John Grant: Artist

Crane researcher John Grant is also a superb wildlife artist and recently held his first exhibition, some of his portfolio can be viewed at his website. John also contributed photographs of Chinese crane art to Elinor's Crane Week presentation (see right →). The Ozcranes Home page crane papercut is from Elinor's collection.

Brolga Recovery Group news

BRG held a planning meeting and wetland field day near Hamilton, western Victoria, on 14 November – excellent report and images by Lachlan Farrington at the Nature Glenelg Trust website. The BRG October 2012 news is available from Sue Mudford.

IUCN reviews Brolga status

The Crane Specialist Group (CSG) is a network of specialists on crane research and conservation, convened by the International Crane Foundation, for the Species Survival Commission (Wetlands International/ IUCN). The Australian members are John Grant, Inka Veltheim and Elinor Scambler. The CSG recently initiated a full status and conservation review for the Brolga, to be finalised later in 2012. The lead author is Inka Veltheim, with Elinor Scambler and John Grant contributing on the northern Australian Brolga population. The last international review of Brolga status was in 1996.

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Diary

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Crane Counts: Birdata

Join the ongoing Atlas of Australian Birds and report flock counts of cranes in Australia to Birdata. Three species are recognised – Brolga, Sarus Crane, and Crane Species (Unidentified: Atlas No. 2520) to ensure full flock counts. Flock counting provides much more valuable data on distribution, species associations and movements than simple presence-absence records.

Some key sites suggested for full flock Atlassing are:

Atherton Tablelands IBA (enter ‘Atherton’ in the Birdata search box)
Roadside crops and wetlands (including farm impoundments) on roads south of Innot Hot Springs (-17.67, 145.24)
Karumba (-17.67, 141.07) to Normanton and 200km S to junction of Wills & Burke Developmental Rds
Normanton W to Burketown (-17.74, 139.55)
Bob Forsyth is seeking records of Sarus Cranes S of -18.5 S, from Augustus Downs-Bang Bang Jumpup-Wondoola and any unfledged young W of the Bynoe and Flinders Rivers, contact PO Box 933 Mt Isa Qld 4825 or Email.

Crane Counts: Atherton Tablelands

The Atherton Tablelands Crane Count is held on the first Saturday of September each year, visit BirdLife Australia North Queensland or email the Crane Count Co-ordinator.

Sarus Crane landing (Ian Montgomery)

Student Conservation Science Conference

21 – 31 January, 2013 Australia's first Student Conference on Conservation Science will be held at the University of Brisbane in January 2013, bringing together post-graduate conservation science students from across the Asia-Pacific region to develop skills and network with colleagues. Contact SCCS Aus »