Whooping Crane #38-08 DAR Biography

Photo: John Cullum

Meet the 2008 DAR Whooping Crane Chicks!

Crane DAR #38-08 (838D)

Date Hatched

June 16, 2008

Gender

Female

Egg Source:

Permanent
Leg Bands

Left Leg

Right Leg

R/W

R/W/G

Read more about raising and naming of the DAR chicks.
*Scroll to bottom for most recent history.*

Personality and History
"This chick was always very attached to the costume. As a young chick, she developed some leg issues and wasn't originally going to be part of the DAR project. She was brought to Necedah NWR with the other DAR chicks, in hopes that walking around in the marsh would help straighten her leg. As it turns out, she made a miraculous recovery, and is very good at maneuvering through the wetlands and foraging on her own," reports her handler, ICF's John Collum.

She was released on Necedah NWR with #37-08 on October 18th. The next day these two as well as DAR #35-08 and #36-08 flew back to the site where they were all raised. A few days later,#35-08, 36-08 and 38-08 flew to the northern end of the refuge and joined up with flockmates #31-08 and #32-08. These five DAR chicks remained together on the northern end of the refuge. Signals from the birds’ radio transmitters sometimes indicate that adult Whooping cranes may be interacting with these chicks, but their remote location means no one usually sees this.

Fall weather in Wisconsin was unusually warm. On November 1, ICF Tracking Interns Eva Szyszkoski and Binga Elger checked on the five DAR cranes located on a remote part of the Necedah NWR. The area is quite difficult to get to. Binga took this photo of the DAR cranes and adult whooping crane #401. Many sandhill cranes were also with the whooping cranes, but the sandhills flushed when the costumed biologists entered the scene.
Photo Binga Elger, ICF

Fall 2008 — First Journey South as a DAR Crane: On November 17 DAR chick #38-08 began migration with experienced adult #216 and DAR flockmates 31-08, 32-08, and 36-08. That night the small group roosted near Ogle County, Illinois! They were still in northern Illinois as of Dec. 1. On Dec. 5 they arrived in Lawrence County, Tennessee.

Spring 2009: Trackers think #38-08 left on migration with this wintering group of five cranes, since #31-08 began migration north from Lawrence County, TN on March 17th or 18th and PTT data indicated that he (and probably the others) stopped in Gallatin County, IL on March 18th and Rock County, IL on March 20th. The group likely reached home on the night of March 22, as all were confirmed at Necedah on March 23!

Fall 2009: Last seen in Wisconsin, together with DAR 31-08 and DAR 36-08, November 10. The three migrated together and data from DAR 31-08's transmitter on the night of Nov. 11 showed them in Winnebago County, Illinois. They were les than 20 miles from where the Class of 2009 was camped. The three birds completed migration to their previous wintering location in Lawrence County, Tennessee, on November 27. Then they moved. According to PTT readings for #31-08, they returned to northwestern Alabama (Lauderdale County) by February 13, and then to Colbert County by the night of February 18.

Spring 2010: DAR 38-08 and DAR 31-08 moved from Colbert County, Alabama, back to Lawrence County, Tennessee, by the night of March 5. A PTT reading from DAR 31-08 confirmed he was back on the Wisconsin nesting grounds March 24 and trackers assumed DAR 38-08 was with him. She has since been visually confirmed at Necedah NWR and with #703 pretty much ever since they arrived back in Wisconsin. Eva said, "Hopefully this will be a potential breeding pair next year."

Fall 2010: DAR 38-08 and male #703 were photographed at the end of November on the same private lands in Lowndes County, Georgia, where they've spent much time the past couple of winters. The landowners (confidential names) sent this photo.

Spring 2011: Left Georgia March 8 with #703 and they were back in the Necedah, WI core area by March 21. The pair built their first nest and began incubating April 12, but the nest failed on May 4 and they did not attempt another.

Fall 2011: Female #38-08 (DAR)and her mate #703 (or 3-07) were on their winter territory by December4. The usually arrive just before Thanksgiving. The Georgia landowners who host them and also pair #707 (or 7-07) & #39-07 (DAR) on their property each winter said: "In the four years that they have been coming, we have worked hard to maintain and encourage an estuary in the back of our pasture and return the land the way it was before we ever moved here. We are now home to several varieties on waterfowl. Last year we even had 3 Sandhill cranes move in, but I haven''t seen them this year. Cranes #39-07 and 707 adopted them and it was fascinating to watch her 'mother' them."


Female #38-08 (DAR), #703	707 & 39-07 (DAR) and 703 & 38-08 (DAR) in Feb. 2012 Photos Susan Braun	Pair #38-08 (DAR) and #703 are on the right.

Spring 2012: Female #38-08 (DAR) was detected the evening of March 11 on Necedah NWR, migration complete. It was assumed that her mate #703 was with her; he has a nonworking transmitter. Sure enough: This pair had the first confirmed Whooping crane nest of the season! Bev Paulan of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted an aerial tracking flight on March 26 and located pair #703 (3-07) and #38-08 (DAR) incubating on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge but they abandoned the nest on April 4. They began incubating a second nest April 23.

Last updated: 5/03/12

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