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Meet
the 2008 Whooping Crane Chicks!
Hatch-year
2008 of the Eastern
Flock
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| Crane
# 804 |
| Date
Hatched |
May
9, 2008 |
| Gender |
Male |
|
|
Egg
Source: Patuxent WRC |
Permanent
Leg Bands
(Attached
after reaching Chass)
|
| Left
Leg |
Right
Leg |
|
radio
antenna |
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- Read
about the naming system, hatch place in
Maryland, release site in Wisconsin, over-wintering
site in Florida, and leg-band codes.
* Scroll to end for most recent
history*
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Personality
and Training:
Notes
from the captive breeding "hatchery" at Patuxent WRC in Maryland:
This chick
has a huge personality. He already had a lot to say while still in the
egg! Barb said, "When it was in the hatcher, we would check on the
egg by making crane vocalizations to assess its strength and progress.
Each time I did this, #4 just peeped and peeped and peeped. It was like
a little girl who had her phone privileges taken away for a month and
finally was able to talk on the phone again to her girlfriends. Chick
#4 did this before hatching and also after being old enough to go to a
pen. |
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| When
I opened the door to the aviary I could hear #4 peeping, peeping, peeping
in the pen. It seemed like #4 was just waiting for someone to come so he
could talk their ear off. Always the little talker! At #4's first swimming
exercise, he would paddle his little legs the length of the pen like a true
olympian. Every so often #4 would stop for a brief rest at the pool's end,
and then get motoring along again like someone shot him out of a cannon.
Amazingly enough, #4 had very little to say while in the pool as he concentrated
on moving the legs and not the little beak! |
The Aviary
is set up with pens lined up along both sides of a long aisle. One day Barb
heard two chicks peeping back and forth across the aisle to each other.
Then she saw the tiny little shape of #804 in the left pen, and #807 standing
directly across in the right side pen. Both little chicks were standing
at their doorways peeping back and forth to each other. Both had so much
to say!
Chick #804 was always near the front of his group during training, and paid
good attention. |
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Notes
from "flight school" at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin:
Arrived
at Necedah NWR on June 25 with the first group of the Class of 2008. By
mid July he and #803, the two oldest birds, were starting to fly in ground
effect. On Aug. 10 Bev took the group to the marsh where they would
be out of sight while the runway grass was cut. Bev said “804 became
the most adventuresome of the group and wandered the farthest. At one point
he tried climbing up on a very small tussock that gave him that perfect
‘king of the hill’ position. The tussock proved to be too small
and too wobbly, so 804 was soon back in the water.”
On
Aug. 15th, pilot Richard reported that new flier #804 took his first first
full circuit with the trike (along with #803 and 805)! On
the Sept. 2 health check he weighed 6.6 kg.
He
became a strong flier and was ready for migration by early October. On Oct.
8, a day after cohort-mate #810 was removed because of aggressive behavior,
the team let 803, 804 and 805 keep #810 company in his pen for the morning
and all went well.
|
Bees
were a problem at the refuge and 804 was stung. The bee sting made his
beak get out of line, but it was soon back to normal.
Photo Operation Migration |
|
#804
is curious!
Photo:Tara
Urette Hood, Sep. 19, 2008 |
| First
Migration South: Chick #804 left Necedah NWR for his first
migration on October 17, 2008. Find day-by-day
news
about the flock's migration and read more about #804 below. |
Oct.
17, Day 1: After a good take-off, cranes #803, 804, and
805 turned back to familiar territory and dropped out. The ground
crew found these
three, crated them, and drove them to Stop #1 in the tracking van!
Photo
Heather Ray, Operation Migration
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November
21, Day 36: All
but one of the birds flew with Brooke at 2,000 feet altitude over
the Twin Groves wind farm in Illinois with no problems.
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January
9, Day 74: After
being grounded for 9 days in a row, #804 was one of the seven dropouts
when they left Chilton County, Alabama. He was crated and driven.
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January
23, 2009, Day
88: Migration complete for the "Chass 7" of
#804, 803, 814, 818, 819, 824 and 827! However, 804 kept
catching thermals and having too much fun to land. He kept flying
until the plane was low on fuel. Finally an ultralight led him
to a previously used landing site 9 miles away. Then he finished
the migration by riding in a box on an
airboat
to join his flockmates on their remote island at Chass! SEE PHOTOS >>
|
| Winter
at the Chass Pen: Of
the Chass 7, #804 is really looking like an adult with the red on his
head. "He
has the most red on
his head. When he's threatening the costume or another chick, he slicks
back the
skin on his head and now
that it's turning red, he looks more threatening
than a younger bird with no red," said Sara. Eva said, "This year
#803 and #804 are the trouble makers. They are the ones that stir
up trouble
at roost time, and may even fly out of the pen, prompting others to follow." |
| 2009
First Unaided Spring Migration: Cranes
804, 814, 818, and 819 left Florida on March 24 — the first
four to leave Florida for Wisconsin on their first unaided migration!
On March
31 The PTT on #818 indicated she was in Peoria County, IL. Tracking
this group,
Eva got to that location April 1 but found that crane
#819 has separated from the others. The three continued migrating April 1
and 804, 814 and 818 were next reported April 7 in McHenry
County, Illinois. The three reached Necedah NWR on April 16! They stayed
in the area or nearby Dodge County all summer. By
late October/early November 814, 804, and 818 joined with #828, 824,
827, and 830 there
to make a group of seven. These seven were a mix of birds who had spent
the winter at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and birds who’d
spent the winter at Chassahowitzka NWR. This group remained together
in Dodge County through the last check on December 4. |
| Fall
2009: (Also see above) Crane #804 was in the group of seven
who moved to Dodge County, WI in late fall and stayed
through at least December 4. None of these birds were seen or heard
from again until the evening of December 12 when #828 turned up by
himself at the Hiwassee State Refuge in Tennessee! Where were #804
and the others? The answer came on January 8 when some workers at Chassahowitzka
NWR went out to the pen to do some work before the Class of 2009 would
arrive, and found the 6 Whooping cranes just outside the pen! The group
of 6 consisted of all 5 surviving Chassahowitzka NWR birds from the
Class of 2008 and #830, who had wintered at St. Marks NWR. Trackers
expected the group to stay for a day or two and then move elsewhere,
which usually happens when birds from the previous year complete their
first unassisted migration. |
| Last
updated: 1/11/10 |
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