Black-necked cranes in Bhutan
On arrival in Phobhjikha they are seen to circle Gangteng Monastery three times as if practicing kora ("circumambulation"), and repeat this act as they begin their return to the Tibet Autonomous Region in early spring.
The conservation area was established by Bhutan in the Phobjikha Valley in 2003, and RSPN has the mandate to protect not only the black-necked cranes but also 13 other vulnerable species.
[5] The conservation area or habitat in the Phobhjikha Valley, established in 2003 has, not only the black-necked cranes, but also 13 other vulnerable species such as rufous-necked hornbill Aceros nipalensis, chestnut-breasted partridge Arborophila mandellii, Pallas's fish eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus, nuthatch Sitta Formosa, wood snipe Gallinago nemoricola, Blyth's tragopan Tragopan blythii, greater spotted eagle Clanga clanga, imperial eagle Aquila heliaca, Baer's pochard Aythya baeri, Hodgson's bushchat Saxicola insignis, dark-rumped swift Apus acuticauda, and grey-crowned prinia Prinia cinereocapilla.
The thick grasslands of wetlands are also grazing grounds for a large number of cattle and horses during the summer months that helps the growth of the tender bamboo shoots on which the cranes feed later during the winter season.
Another reason for this is that when the large number of cranes visit these valleys, which are snow bound, the village community, including the Buddhist Lamas migrate to warmer regions to Wangdue Phodrong, thus avoiding a human conflict with the cranes' habitat, which forage in the valleys in marshy lands that are ploughed before winter and that provide insects and plant material and seeds.
There are indications that their number is increasing due to conservation efforts which may eventually result in downgrading its vulnerability to threat to a lower category.
[2][11] Its habitats in Bhutan, mainly the wetlands, were getting degraded due to agriculture and anthropogenic pressures on its breeding and wintering grounds, causing its numbers to decline, as also in other parts of the world, and was thus declared under the Vulnerable category (C1).
The Society has also produced a documentary (1989 : On the wings of prayer and 2014: Heavenly Bird with a German TV company) film on the cranes visiting Bhutan every year.
[17] Crane population counts are conducted during the winter by the RSPN, the Sherubtse College and the Nature and Trekking Club.
A Nature Reserve Centre has also been established at Kibethang, near the Phobjikha wintering grounds with funding provided by WWF and USA.
[4] Although Bhutan's wintering cranes are secure to a great extent, the habitat loss such as in Bumthang and Paro due to development and human settlement chould be a major conservation issue in future.
