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Meet
the New 2005 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2005 of the Eastern Flock |
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DAR 27-05: "Jumblies" |
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| Date Hatched at ICF |
2005 |
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| Gender |
Female |
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| Date Released in Wisconsin |
October 25, 2005 |
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| Permanent
Band Colors Left Leg: G/W radio USFWS bands |
Right Leg: PTT R/W |
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Personality and History
Migration Training: She was hatched at ICF and named "Jumblies." She was transferred to the Necedah NWR at 1 month of age. Marianne Wellington is a chick-rearing specialist who wore a costume and raised the 4 DAR chicks there. They fledged (learned to fly) when they were around 70 days old. Unlike their cousins for the ultralight-led migration, the DAR chicks roamed freely on the refuge. Marianne and other costumed parents checked on them many times each day. At night until they're released the chicks are safe in a big pen with a pond and a net over the top. Weight: 7.1 kg on Oct. 22.
DAR Chick #27-05 (along with #33-05) was released for good on the refuge near adult whooping cranes on Oct. 25, 2005. She has been hanging out with other sandhill cranes and whooping cranes on the refuge and nearby areas.
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Releasing
DAR #527 on a pond at Necedah NWR 10/25/05 |
Costume and DAR 27-05 in crate, ready for release 10/25/05 |
Photos
ICF, Marianne Wellington |
History
Fall 2005--First Migration South as a Direct
Release Bird:The four DAR birds began migration
Nov. 24 from Necedah NWR when an Arctic air mass with 20
to 40 mile per hour winds moved into Wisconsin. They left
at 10:33AM with +50 sandhill cranes. Taking advantage of
a strong tailwind, these birds
soon were far ahead of the tracking team, who were snarled
in a traffic jam on the WI-IL border. The three DAR females
each carry a PTT transmitter,
and #27-05 was detected northeast
of Louisville, KY. That means she traveled a whopping 455 miles on
the first day of her migration!
She was not with the other DAR chicks, whose signals were
not
detected.
After circling Louisville for a day in a small airplane,
tracker Sara Zimorski found her at an arboretum south of
town, right next to a public walking path. Sara knew that
a place so near human activity was unsafe for #27-05. She
notified her supervisor, Dr. Richard Urbanek. He was providing
ground support for Sara when she was tracking from the airplane.
Dr. Urbanek and a helper, wearing the familiar white costumes,
got near to #27-05 on Nov. 28 with a cardboard box and an
ear of corn. She had been raised by biologists wearing these
same
suits,
so #27-05 cautiously came near. They carefully pushed her
into the box. The captured #27-05 was then driven
28 miles eastward. They
released her among sandhill cranes in a remote waterfowl
refuge that was closed to the public. She left on
Nov. 29, with a 20 mph west wind. She was migrating alone.
Without
guidance
from other cranes, she proceeded slowly southward while being
blown eastward by the wind. She landed to roost about 5 PM
in Laurel County, Kentucky. She resumed
migration the next day (Nov. 30), flying southward alone.
She landed about 1 PM in Bledsoe County, Tennessee--one ridge
and valley
west
of
Hiwassee
Wildlife
Refuge. Then she likely heard or saw sandhill cranes (they're
loud), and flew the short distance over Walden Ridge
to land about 4 PM among more than 100 sandhills in a wetland
near Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. Hooray! She made it from
north-central Kentucky to the big crane
gathering
area
at Hiwassee without the guidance of other cranes except for the final short incoming
flight. She remained to roost with more than 300 sandhill
cranes, and is still there, along with DAR 28-05.
Spring 2006: Began migration from Hiwassee
Wildlife Refuge in Tennessee on February 26! She was with
DAR female #28-05. PTT readings showed they roosted that
night in Kentucky. They were in northwestern Indiana by February
28. Then the two separated. Chick #27-05 moved
to
another Indiana wildlife area with a flock of migrating sandhills
until March 30, when PTT readings showed she resumed migration.
she made it to Green Lake County and Fond du Lac County,
Wisconsin on that date. She completed migration to Necedah
NWR on April 27. She spent the summer with a large sandhill
crane flocks in Winnebago County and Marathon County, WI.
Fall 2006: Began migration Nov. 19 and made it to Jasper-Pulaski SFWA in Indiana, by 20 November. As of Dec. 27, remained with thousands of staging or wintering sandhillson Hiwassee wildlife Refuge in Meigs County, Tennessee.
Spring
2007: Began migration from Hiwassee Wildlife
Refuge in Tennessee after February 12.
According to
PTT
readings, DAR 27-05 roosted in Pike County, Indiana, on
the night
of
February 21. On March 18 she was reported with sandhill
cranes in
Jasper-Pulaski FWA, Indiana — good crane habitat
on the migration route. A signal (exact location undetermined)
was detected in Columbia County, Wisconsin, during an aerial
survey on March 29.
Fall 2007: Arrived on Jasper-Pulaski FWA in Indiana on or by November 22. Arrived on Hiwassee WR in Tennessee on December 3 and was still there the end of December.
Spring 2008: Female DAR 27-05 began spring migration during sometime between February 28 and March 3. She was reported with migrating sandhills in Jackson County, Indiana, until she resumed migration on March 16 or 17. No further reports since then, but an unconfirmed sighting in Fond du Lac County, WI on April 17 may have been this bird.
Last updated: 8/26/08
Back to "Meet the Flock 2005"
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).