In what could possibly be the first-ever record of a Black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) successfully breeding in the country, a chick has been sighted with a breeding pair in Haa. Black-necked crane (BNC) usually migrate to its northern summer habitat in Tibetan Plateau where they nest and hatch chicks sometime in May.
A chick which possibly was just few weeks old was first sighted and photographed in 2021, by a local herder. He has even recorded a photo evidence. Dr. Sherub, an ornithologist with UWICER shared that this is the first report of a BNC chick hatching and surviving in the country. The same was reported to management of JKSNR. The team went out to verify the report and confirmed about the the first-ever sighting of the bird at the elevation of 4108 masl at Haa la Jula and Lhangzab (Lat: 27.429437700N; Lon: 89.134475880 E). The team also verified that the bird uses Bhutan not only as wintering habitat but also as summer breeding habitat.
Almost a year after, when team of foresters from JKSNR, were recently heading out for Snow leopard camera trapping, they too sighted the birds, further confirming its presence in the reserve area. This time, it was seen that the chick has not only survived but grown up to be a juvenile. “The bird has been sighted for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). The chick was seen and photographed feeding together with an adult pair.
If all of this comes out true, it can, not only be the first case of a breeding pair becoming a resident BNC, without migrating to north in summer, but also the first chick hatched and surviving in the country.
However, the park will be closely monitoring and enhancing the surveillance of the birds during summer, to confirm if all this claims are true. The park plans to collaborate with conservation partners such as RSPN to gather more information and ascertain it. JKSNR will be also upping their conservation efforts to protect the BNC.
