Journey North Whooping Crane Migration

Meet the New 2007 DAR Whooping Crane Chicks!

Photo: Anna Fasoli, ICF

Crane #44-07 DAR

Date Hatched

June 11, 2007

Gender

Female

Weight: 4.7 kg

Egg Source: ICF

Permanent Leg Bands:

Left Leg:
W/G and PTT

Right Leg:
R/G

Read more about the raising and naming of the DAR chicks.

Personality and History
After hatching at ICF, this chick was nicknamed "Anvil" by caretakers, but her real and only official name is DAR 44-07. She was always a very aggressive chick but she was somewhere in the middle of the pecking order of the DAR group of ten chicks.
She was released on Necedah NWR the evening of Oct. 30 together with DAR 40-07, 42-07, and 37-07. She then flew off to land in scrub oak trees where there was no water for safe roosting, so she was retrieved and re-released with the roosting DAR cranes nearby. She stayed with them.
DAR chicks #44-07, 43-07, #39-07, 37-07, 40-07, and 42-07 roosted with adult #102 on the night of Nov. 5. That's a good sign that maybe they'll follow the adult south!

Nov. 29 in Illinois. Click to enlarge.

Photo Richard Urbanek ICF Tracking Team

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. They resumed migration Dec. 5 after their roost pond became frozen. With tailwinds, they flew 167 miles and landed to roost in Clinton County, Illinois. (See their map.)

On December 11, 2007, the six off-course cranes were captured and moved to Tennessee by the ICF tracking team so they could more easily find adult cranes to follow south. DAR 44, 42, and 37 remain in the area around Meigs County, Tennessee.

Spring 2008 and First Unassisted Migration North: Began migration March 16 from her wintering grounds in Meigs Co, Tennessee along with DAR 37-07, 39-07, 42-07, 43-07, and 46-07. The group stayed in or near Tuscola County, Michigan until June, when trackers were able to successfully capture and bring back all but #44-07. She moved to Arenac County on June 17, a week after the other 3 birds in her group were captured and relocated to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Crane 44-07 was near Mackinaw State Forest at least through the last PTT reading on September 23.

Last Updated: 10/07/08

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