Sandhill Crane Movement Over Two Years

This slide shows two graphs of sandhill crane movement in November. On the photos is a box with the words: Same Bird Species, Same Month, Different Years. Changes in the quantity of birds and the locations of travel are shown, demonstrating complex ecosystems and how animals move or change their ecosystems depending on whether or not their needs are being met.

Parkersburg

Iowa Core Standard

HS-LS2-6

Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem

Driving Question

What drives the movement of Canada geese and sandhill cranes through the Midwest?

Probing Questions

Do birds return to the same location each year at the end of the migration South? To the North? Are there reasons why certain locations seem to draw them in? Why do you think that is?
Do you see a pattern of how the bird travels? Do the birds travel repeat paths?
What can you discover about the places where the birds stay for long periods? Can you compare food, shelter and water availability?

Classroom Suggestions

Students could:

Watch the "Where Do Birds Go in the Winter" video to understand the importance of supporting evidence for several migration pattern claims.
Use this phenomena as part of a bird unit in a conservation class. Start with bird types including habitat, then move to bird uses and then bird movement. Discuss the two ways of tracking, first Motus then telemetry. Finally, provide this data set and the worksheet to research where their bird goes and why.

Resources

PBS Digital Studios | Be Smart: Where Do Birds Go In Winter?: This video discusses some of the theories humans have come up with to explain where birds went in the winter.
Iowa DNR | Bird-Tracking Dataset (folder) Canada Goose/Sandhill Crane Tracking Worksheet: Bird-tracking dataset from the Iowa DNR and teacher-created worksheet to analyze the bird-tracking dataset.
Motus | Wildlife Tracking System: This is one type of bird tracking. You can use this to talk about the quality of data. For Motus data to be recorded, birds must fly by a receiver.
Iowa DNR | 2024-25 - Iowa Hunting, Trapping & Migratory Game Bird Regulations: This publication outlines Iowa's bird hunting regulations. Use this to determine if hunting and where can have an effect on bird population.
National Weather Service | Climate: This site provides climate data for the Midwest. Use this to review the availability of open water, rainfall and temperature and compare to bird environmental needs.

Contributors

Submitted by Karen Van De Walle as part of the Iowa STEM Teacher Externship program.