Kurt, in answer to the Whooping Crane question -- yes, those are highly likely reintroduction birds. I'm sure they all had colored bands on them, if you were able to see them. I don't think any of the natural "western" population birds have ever been observed here. And, no, they are not yet countable for Wisconsin, under the standard ABA guidelines. It would take a number of years of natural reproduction, producing a stable breeding population. As I understand it, Owens Rock is a natural bedrock formation that survived the glacial and post glacial flooding periods (as an island). I recall hearing that a Gyrfalcon once spent part of a winter there, quite a number of years ago. That was before the trees grew tall there, and the rock was more exposed on the open landscape. Tom Schultz Green Lake Co. -----Original Message----- From: K Petersen Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 3:34 PM To: 'WISBIRDN' Subject: [wisb] Adams County Kite Hi all - This is a bit of a follow-up to Mike Wanger's post of yesterday concerning the white-tailed kite in Adams County. As mentioned, on Tuesday he, I, and Dan from Iowa teamed up cell-phone wise to improve our chances of spotting the kite but to no avail. My wife Kathy and I drove the area from about 1-4 p.m. I did have a couple moments of excitement when on two occasions a male northern harrier cruised through. I was however quite impressed with the number of sandhill cranes in the area. I believe some fields had hundreds present, and the area in total probably had thousands. One flock included three adult whooping cranes - neat. Would these birds be "natural" ones or part of the reintroduction breeding program in Wisconsin? Are whooping cranes listed as an official Wisconsin bird yet or do we need more successful nesting for that to happen? The last "species addition" list I have for Wisconsin was an email to the Wisconsin Bird Network from Sam Robbins in January of 2000. Have any changes been made since then? Is there a web site somewhere that would list that? I have a few other questions concerning the Adams County area - 1. Has anyone seen greater prairie chickens on their kite quests? There were numerous "Prairie Chicken Management Area" signs in the area. 2. Does the kite favor the bare trees for perching, or is it also using those that are still leafed out? 3. Off topic just a tad, does anyone know anything about Owens Rock? This is an outcropping of rock sort of out in the middle of nowhere - on the west side of Cty W and just north of Apache Ave. I have been unable to find any info of note on the internet. It is a very noticeable formation of rock, surrounded by flat fields, and just seems somewhat of an anomaly. If anyone visits the Adams County area for the kite would you please post your activity, regardless of sightings. Thanks. Kurt Petersen Sheboygan County #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn #################### You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding Network (Wisbirdn). To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: //www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn