Journey North Whooping Cranes

Photo: Operation Migration

Meet the Whooping Crane Class of 2004!
Hatch-year 2004 of the Eastern Flock

Crane # 402

Date Hatched

April 21 , 2004

Gender

Male

Date Arrived in Wisconsin

June 16, 2004

Permanent Leg Bands
W/R/W

W/G

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

Personality and History

Migration Training: Introduced to the trike at 8-days of age. Received 8 hrs & 10 min. of aircraft conditioning at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). Good follower. Wants to be in charge. Clobbered the younger #407 when the younger chick bit him on the neck.

History:
First Migration South: Crated to destination on Day 1 and dropped out on Day 2 (crated again). Crated to Kankakee Cty, IL on day 22. On day 36, decided that while it couldn't manage to follow the aircraft another 5 miles into Oldham County, it could still fly for more than 7 hours (all over Kentucky, and southeast Indiana) before he was retrieved by trackers. Often called a toublemaker (along with 405 and 408).

Spring 2005: Left on first journey north with the group of 11 on 25 March, 2005 after 103 days on wintering grounds. After flying through Georgia and veering as far east as South Carolina, the flock corrected their course, stopping in Indiana before reaching Wisconsin. Still together, the group of 11 entered Wisconsin the evening of April 4. On April 6 the group of 11 split. Chick #402 stayed with 3, 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20. They remained in Dane County, WI and finally arrived on Necedah NWR on May 3, migration complete! During the summer, cranes #402, 403, 412, 416, and 417 roosted as a group, often with sandhill cranes. They spent time in Columbia and Marquette counties, WI.

Fall 2005: Left Wisconsin on its first unaided fall migration on November 9, together with #403, 412, 416, and 417. They made it to Indiana the first day. On November 10 they were roosting at a central Tennessee location. According to tracker Lara Fondow, the five males landed at their former pen site in Florida at 2:05 November 17. They are the first Eastern flock whoopers to complete migration to the primary wintering area in west-central Florida this fall! With no free food at the pen, they wandered north the next day.

Spring 2006: Began migration on March 27 or 28 in a group with 403, 412, 416 and 417. They were reported in Dane County, WI on March 31. They moved up to Necedah NWR to complete their migration on April 6!

Fall 2006: Departed Wisconsin on Nov. 19 (with #310, #403 and #412) and made it that night to NE Illinois. They successfully migrated to Florida, where #402 was in Lafayette County with #403 and #412.

Spring 2007: Began migration March 18 (with #403 and #412). Confirmed roosting with #403 on Necedah NWR, on the night of March 26.

Fall 2007: #402 began migration from Wisconsin on November 21 along with 307, 412, 511, 514, and W601 (the flock's only wild-hatched chick so far). He was found with #412 and wintering sandhill cranes in Lake County, Florida, on December 19.

Spring 2008: Began spring migration on March 17 with #412. Confirmed back on Necedah NWR by March 30.

Fall 2008: Crane #402 left Wisconsin November 20 with #105 and #501. (They had departed Hiwassee WR, Tennessee, after December 19.) In Florida, he stayed with #105 and #501 in Hernando County until January 3, when he moved to his previous wintering location in Lake County. On January 24, a day after the Class of 2008 chicks arrived at the Chass pen, he showed up there too. He was still there the next day. ICF's Sara Zimorski said, "Maybe he was lonely and looking for #105 and #501 again. He doesn't seem like he'll cause problems, but we'll keep an eye on him. If he stays we'll see how he does with the chicks once they're released after health checks."

#402 getting his blood drawn
Photo Eva Szyszkoski

Surprise! Adult male #402 was still at the Chass pen during the chicks' health checks, and Eva tells what happened: "After costumed handlers took the first few chicks away to the tent, #402 began to alarm call as each successive chick disappeared down the path. Chick #814 joined in with his already-adult voice, and several of the other chicks voiced their objections with high pitched little peeps.

"While #402 did not need a new transmitter, one of his bands was chipped. We decided to try to capture him to replace the band and let the Disney folks perform a health check on him as well. Sara didn’t seem to be too hopeful about his willingness to be caught, since he had just watched seven chicks be hauled away. But all it took was one little grape! As soon as Sara put a grape in her puppet beak, #402 came right up to her, apparently risking the chance of being caught for one little delicious treat. Needless to say, catching him was not as difficult as we expected. We knew that Sara had been successful when we heard #402 rattling—a typical sound made by a crane when it is caught.

After his band was replaced and his health check completed, #402 was released back in the open topped pen, free to fly away.

By January 29, #402 had moved to Hernando County, and by January 30 he was back at his Lake County location.

Spring 2008: Began migration from Lake County, Florida on March 17. Back in Wisconsin on Necedah NWR, he was with female DAR 46-07 after she split from #412 after migration. Male #402 and DAR 46-07 were a pair all summer and stayed in the core area.

Fall 2009: Pair #402 and DAR46-07 were still on the Wisconsin refuge as of Nov. 15. They did migrate and wintered in Lake County, Florida.

Spring 2010: Began migration from Florida on March 19 with female 46-07 (DAR). They were reported near Concord, Pike County, Georgia, on 19 March. They were back on Necedah NWR by March 28. Then came GREAT news: #402 and his mate were observed sitting on a nest near one of the ultralight training sites on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on April 30th. But the pair continued to incubate the egg for another eight days after it was due to hatch. The egg was collected and analyzed at ICF, where they found that the egg was infertile. (Fingers crosssed that next spring they'll become parents.)

Fall 2010: Migrating male #402 and mate #46-07 (DAR) were found (with pair #213 and #218) in Will County, Illinois, on the afternoon of November 26. They remained in the area at least through December 2. They completed migration to their wintering territory in Lake County, Florida, where they were found during an aerial survey on December 13.

Spring 2011: Began migration on March 8 with female 46-07 (DAR). They were back at Necedah NWR by March 21. The pair began incubating on April 19 and on May 16 little W4-11 hatched! By June 10 their chick was the Eastern flock's only surviving wild-hatched chick for the summer 2011 nesting season. But good luck ran out and the chick was found dead July 1.


Click for more about this nesting pair. Images: Eva Szyszkoski	Parents and chick W4-11 on June 12, 2011, but the chick was discovered dead on July 1.

Last updated: 7/4/11