Personality
and History
After
hatching at ICF, this chick was nicknamed "Lathe" by caretakers,
but his real and only official name is DAR 37-07. He is a strong
male who took over the dominant role from #36-07.
He
was released on Necedah NWR the evening of Oct. 30 together with
DAR 40-07, 42-07, and 44-07. DAR #37-07 and DAR #42-07 flew to
roost on the north Sandhill roost, and he is having fun flying
around
the refuge and nearby areas.
DAR
chicks #37-07, 39-07,
40-07,
42-07,
43-07,
and 44-07 roosted
with adult #102 on the night of Nov. 5. That's a good sign
that maybe they'll follow her south!
History
First Migration South: Nov.
6, 2007: The group of 6 DAR chicks joined Whooping Cranes #309 and 403 and sandhill
cranes at another spot on Necedah NWR. Several other adult Whooping Cranes and
about 200 sandhill cranes were also nearby. And then the 6 young DAR birds did
a surprising thing: they began migration, all by themselves and with no adult
whooper or sandhill crane to lead the way! The chicks took off in 20 mph NNW
winds under partly cloudy skies. They flew south 214 miles and landed to roost
in a small pond in a harvested cornfield in Peoria County, Illinois. (See
their
map.) They
were
not with other cranes. What will happen next?
On
December 11, 2007, the six off-course cranes were captured and
moved to Tennessee by the ICF tracking teamso they could more
easily find adult cranes to follow south. DAR 37, 42, and 44
remained in the area around Meigs County, Tennessee.
Spring
2008 and First Unassisted Migration North: Began migration
March 16 from his wintering grounds in Meigs Co, Tennessee
along with DAR 39-07, 42-07, 43-07, 44-07, and 46-07. They
made good progress, roosting for one night in Adair County,
Kentucky and then resuming migration the next day to Clark
County, Indiana (they were not with sandhill cranes when seen
here). On March 21, they continued migration to Fayette County,
Indiana. PTT
data (satellite data) for DAR 39-07, 44-07, and 46-07 indicated
they finally moved again on April 16. The group proceeded
to Tuscola County, Michigan. They were still there as of mid
May, although some members of the group briefly
wandered
away and
returned. On June 2 trackers traveled to the cranes' location
to try to capture them all and bring them back to Necedah NWR
in Wisconsin with other members of the new Eastern flock. Only
one crane, #37-07, was successfully captured and he's now back
at Necedah NWR.
Last
Updated: 6/03/08
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