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Meet
the 2008 Whooping Crane Chicks!
Hatch-year 2008 of the Eastern Flock |
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Crane
# 811
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Date Hatched |
May 17, 2008 |
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Gender |
Female |
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Egg Source: #313 and #318 |
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Permanent (Attached after reaching Florida)
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Personality
and Training
Notes
from the captive breeding "hatchery" at Patuxent WRC
in Maryland:
Chick
#811 is a full sibling of #810.
Both were collected as eggs from the parents' abandoned nest at Necedah
National Wildlife Refuge and then shipped to Maryland to hatch. Barb
said #811 sounded weak when in the egg. Her peep could barely be heard,
and they
worried
that
the chick would be too
weak
to hatch
without help. But then all of a sudden when no one was looking,
#811 hatched out all on her own. She was still weak but gained strength
and soon became
a strong member of
the Class of 2008. She is extremely cute, and loves to take a bath
in the pond. She is a good little swimmer. Enjoys the outdoors and
a sweet personality. She is content to just sit at the edge of
the pond and preen her cute little belly all day long in between
foraging
and
eating juicy little bugs. She was afraid of tall flowers on her outdoor
walks! Said Barb, "Her brother, #810, would at
times take a poke at #11, but #11 had a loner little personality that
normally
kept her away from
the
action.
She didn’t care so much about the costume, the trike or being
with the other birds in her first weeks. She did what she wanted, when
she wanted, in her own time and on her own terms, so she's not the
best little follower
of
the Class of 2008.
Notes
from flight school in Wisconsin:
She was
delivered to Wisconsin with cohort one on June 25 for flight school. On
the second day in Wisconsin, she was attacked by the aggressive #810. She
was taken to ICF to treat her injuries. Chick #811 recovered
and rejoined
the flock but was moved to the friendlier cohort
#1 to continue her training.
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Cohort 2 (812 is in front) Photo Operation Migration |
By mid-July
# 811
seemed quite happy now that she was among friendlier birds of Cohort
Two; this group was
introduced to the wing of the aircraft on July 15. But #815
was being closely watched because of a respiratory issue. As August
went on,
she had some trouble keeping up due to loss of flight
feathers in the fight with sibling #810 the day after they arrived at
Necedah. WCEP vet Dr. Barry Hartup examined her and said that the
stress bars and notching on her flight feathers corresponded time-wise
to the time of the attack. If her feather problems affect her ability
to fly or keep up during migration, #811 she will have to stay behind
for her own safety. If that happens she will probably be taken back to
her hatching place at Patuxent WRC in Maryland to be a role model for
future whooper chicks. However, 811 was now following the trike
well — great news!
Last updated: 8/26/08
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