I last visited Myanmar (then Burma) in 1986. Since that time, Myanmar has broken out of military isolation and is developing rapidly. The bicycle-filled streets and small shops of Rangoon have given way to a major urban metropolis, now called Yangon. I returned to Myanmar this summer with our Southeast Asia Program Coordinator Dr. Tran Triet. Over the last few years, we have been developing a new Sarus Crane program with our Myanmar colleagues, including experienced birders and conservationists Myo Sandar Winn and Ko Lay Winn, who joined us for the entire trip.

A pair of Black-necked Cranes dancing at their nest site. Photos by Li Fengshan

The Black-necked Crane is an iconic species of the Tibetan plateau, with almost the entire global population nesting in high-altitude wetlands in China. Ruoergai, in Sichuan province of southwest China, is one of the breeding strongholds of the species where the International Crane Foundation has been working since 2009.

The Cheorwon Plain, located south of the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea, is an important staging and wintering area for Red-crowned and White-naped Cranes in East Asia.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) marking the border between North and South Korea has recently been in the news as the site of the historic meeting between the presidents of those two countries, preceding the arguably even more historic Kim–Trump summit in Singapore. While the DMZ, a natural refuge between the two countries, has become more forested in recent years as a result of an agreement to limit the risk of forest fires, the fertile Cheorwon Plain immediately south of the DMZ in South Korea has become increasingly important as a staging and wintering area for thousands of cranes.

“At every dinner and meeting, Jim’s infectious laugh reverberates across the room and melts cultural differences, everyone is accepted and feels accepted because of his joy.” Sammy King, Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, USGS

On the occasion of his retirement from the International Crane Foundation, I find myself reflecting on my long friendship with Jim Harris. Jim has been a close friend these many years, and our organization has greatly benefited from his unwavering dedication and leadership. In 1977, Co-Founder Ron Sauey first invited then free-lance journalist Jim Harris to write about Siberian Cranes. Little did we know at the time that Jim would be inextricably involved in the welfare of these magnificent birds in the ensuing decades.

This research is published in the latest issue of the journal Waterbirds. Click here to read the abstract.

Throughout the world, cranes time their nesting to wet seasons, ensuring abundant resources for growing families. Migratory species, such as Siberian Cranes in East Asia or Sandhill Cranes in North America, return to their breeding areas as spring returns to northern latitudes, bringing plentiful food for hungry chicks and open water for safe nesting.

We’ve received updated information regarding the Siberian Cranes found earlier this winter poisoned near their staging area on the Yellow River delta in eastern China.

Professor Qian Fawen, executive deputy director of the National Bird Banding Center of China and secretary general of the United Crane Conservation Committee of China Wildlife Conservation Association contacted us Dec. 11 with new information.

The idea for an Eastern Sarus Crane reintroduction program in Thailand “hatched” at an International Crane Workshop in 1983 hosted by the Government of India and the International Crane Foundation. One year later we presented three pairs of juvenile Australian Sarus Cranes to the Queen of Thailand and the Royal Forestry Department. In 1986, Eastern Sarus Cranes were rediscovered in Vietnam and soon thereafter in Cambodia. Eastern Sarus Cranes, confiscated from animal dealers who purchased cranes in Cambodia, were established at the Bangphra Waterfowl Research Station of the Royal Forestry Department, and subsequently at the Khao Khio Open Zoo and the Khorat Zoo of the Zoological Parks Organization of Thailand. The Australian Sarus were used for avicultural research but never used for captive breeding.