Journey North Whooping Cranes

Meet the New 2002 Whooping Crane Chicks!
Hatch-year 2002 of the Eastern Flock

Crane # 211

Date Hatched

May 13 , 2002

Gender

Male

Pre-migratory Weight: 6.4 kg

Permanent Leg Bands

R/W
(left)

R/G
(right)

Read about the naming system, hatch place in Maryland, release site in Wisconsin, over-wintering site in Florida, and leg-band codes.

Personality and History

Personality Characteristics: Friendly with the costume but very dominant with the other birds. Kind of a bully. Gets excited about things. The caretakers call him a "wacky whooper" because he will fight with gates, plants and rocks. Caretaker Mark thinks #211 hallucinates and acts as if he is killing snakes by stomping them.

History:

Fall 2002: Successfully finished his first journey south behind ultralight plane.

211 and 212 in September 2003

Spring 2003: Left Florida on first journey north April 1, 2003 with 14 other whoopers. Returned successfully to Wisconsin April 13. Spent the summer about 15 miles from Necedah NWR with five flock mates. Bonded with #212 and they were often seen back at Necedah NWR in late summer.

Fall 2003: Began migration on Nov. 13 with six flock mates and #102. This group of eight arrived at their old pen site in Florida on November 21, 2003. During their entire journey south, the group stayed together and didn't even mix with sandhill cranes. This group left the old pen and moved to Pasco County shortly after arriving in Florida.

Spring 2004: On March 18, 2004, #211 departed from the Pasco County winter location with Cranes 209 and 212 and spent that night in southern Georgia. They roosted in McHenry County, IL on March 25 and 26. They were next seen at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge—HOME! They most likely arrived on March 27.

Fall 2004: Remained at or near the Necedah NWR until Dec. 11, along with #212 and 217. Arrived at the Florida pen site at 12:45 EST December 15. They flew the whole route in just 4-1/2 days! They roosted that night in the pool within the pen, near the top-netted enclosure containing the 13 newly-arrived 2004 chicks. On December 16 they stayed at the pen all day and night. The trio of #211, 212 and 217 spent time at or near the pen but moved on Dec. 26 to the Pasco County site that was used by #211 and #212 during winter 2003-04. Cranes #211, 212 and 217 sometimes returned to the pen site and were hostile to #214 when she also returned. They drove her away.

Spring 2005: Crane 217 (with 205, 211, and 212) departed Pasco County, FL between March 10 - 12. Confirmed back at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin by March 29. On the evening of 17 April, #217 (female) stayed on the nest the pair built in the pond on the east side of the dike, while #211 (male) roosted alone on the west side of the dike on their pond. This behavior could indicate that laying of an egg is imminent. Sure enough! They laid an egg in their nest, probably April 19. Unfortunately, the pair left the nest site and moved off the refuge by late afternoon, leaving the nest unattended during the night. The next morning the egg was gone, apparently taken by a raccoon or other predator. The pairremained together on or near their territory at Necedah NWR all summer. In the fall they foraged in a field along with the direct autumn release (DAR) chicks with only minor aggression. If other adults appeared around the DAR chicks' home, pair #217 and 211 usually drove them away.

Fall 2005: Began migration from Wisconsin shortly after sunrise on Nov. 24 with #217. They were not tracked. The pair reached their former pen site in Florida on December 1. They moved to a ranch in nearby Pasco County and sometimes associated with #205 and #313, as well as with small groups of sandhill cranes.

Spring 2006: Crane #211 (together with #217) began migration from a cattle ranch in Pasco County, Florida on February 28. They apparently arrived on their territory at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin on March 28. They built a nest and were confirmed incubating on April 11! But on April 20 both these adults were seen foraging together, an indication that their nest had failed. Biologists examined the nest site on the morning of April 21. No egg remains were found in or near the nest. A crane egg shell, believed to be from this Whooping Crane nest, was found on the dike about 300 meters from the nest, probably carried there by an avian predator. See photos. Then—surprise! This pair nested again and began incubating on May 23 at the original nest site they used last year. This time they stayed with their eggs. On June 22, 2006, experts watching through binoculars saw that the adult cranes' behavior had changed. The eggs had hatched! Twin chicks were confirmed on June 23. What a celebration! The new Eastern flock has its first family! Follow their story in our First Family photo slide show.

Fall 2006: The First Family left on their first migration south on Nov. 19, the day that a record total of 28 whooping cranes began migration. The parents and their surviving female chick (called W601) made it that day to Indiana! On December 9, 2006 at 4:08 pm parents #211 and #217 and their surviving chick arrived at the Florida pen site. The new parents brought their chick to the same place THEIR parent, the ultralight plane, brought them in 2002. WELL DONE! The family later moved to a lake in a large housing development in Hernando County, FL (not a good idea). They left that location in after February 22.

#211 and #217 on their April 2007 nest (later abandoned)
Photo Richard Urbanek, ICF

Spring 2007: The First Family (Dad #211, Mom #217, and chick #W601) began migration from Florida on Feb. 23. No further confirmed reports were received until March 20 when the radio signals of 211 and 217 and their chick #W601 were confirmed back on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin! Their chick is the first wild-hatched chick in the eastern migratory population, and the first to complete a roundtrip migration by following her parents — a milestone for the reintroduction of this new flock! By March 26, the chick had separated from the parents (normal behavior). The adults built a new nest and began incubating eggs on April 3. The nest was later abandoned; they began building another nest around May 17, but they did not hatch eggs this year.

Fall 2007: Pair #211 and #217 left on migration November 22, 2007. Found in Vermillion County, Indiana, on November 24 and still there when trackers checked on December 13. They were gone when the area was checked on December 23. On January 3, 2008, ICF tracker Eva detected signals for #211 and #217, the First Family parents. Eva confirmed the birds had landed at the Chassahowitzka pen site by making a trip to the boat ramp where she could once again hear their signals coming from the direction of the pen site. They stayed the night at the pen site. Eva wondered where they'd go next. She monitored them. The next morning they took off at 11:30. At noon they landed on their former territory and found W601, their female offsping from 2006! The photo and caption tell what happened:

The First Family on the adults' Florida territory.
Juvenile W601 was on her parents' territory when they arrived on January 4, 2008. Eva watched the family reunion. All 3 whooping cranes were less than 1 meter apart then W1-06 started walking away. The parents caught up with her and the family then walked and stopped and foraged together. It will be interesting to see what happens next. Will they chase the youngster away, which would be expected behavior? Trackers will continue to monitor these three birds closely to see how they interact.
Photo Eva Szyszkoski, ICF Tracking Team

On Feb. 15, 2008, the two adults left their territory and flew to visit their old "Chass" pen where the Class of 2007 now lives. The adults landed in the pen and the chicks immediately ran and flapped to them, attacking intruders who dared enter their territory. The adults took the hint and flew a short distance away, with chicks on their tails. They were chased from the pen in a matter of minutes, flying to the west to land in a nearby creek. They got the message and didn't come back!