Journey North Whooping Crane Migration

Photo: Operation Migration

Meet the 2009 Whooping Crane Chicks!
Hatch-year 2009 of the Eastern Flock

Crane # 912

Date Hatched

May 14, 2009

Gender

Male

Egg Source

Calgary Zoo, Canada

Permanent
Leg Bands

(Attached after reaching Florida)

Left Leg		Right Leg

*Juvenile band: Red
(*pre-ship health check at PWRC)

Read about the naming system, hatch place in Maryland, release site in Wisconsin, over-wintering site in Florida, and leg-band codes.

Personality, Early Training
Notes from the captive breeding "hatchery" at Patuxent WRC in Maryland:

Some chicks learn how to eat rapidly, others take awhile. Little 912 and 913, who are siblings, took at least 4 days before they started eating and drinking to the satisfaction of the costumes/trainers. Soon they became robust little birds!

July training in Wisconsin
Photo Operation Migration

Notes of Flight School in Wisconsin:
He was flown to Wisconsin with Cohort #2 chicks on July 2. Chick 912 and all the others settled into their new pen just fine! The next day they trained with the trike on the grass runway. They are running, hopping and flapping, but not yet flying. However, by the end of July the cohort #2 birds were all flying in ground effect, a few feet off the grassy strip, and close to gaining good altitude.

Bev reported on August 10: The mid-aged birds at the West site are the most independent group. This is obvious during training, and in the evening. At the night roost check, we stand in the pen for several moments before they lazily wander our way. Chick 912 is always the second one (after 915) into the dry pen to see the costume before bedtime. As summer turned to fall, the birds in this middle group became a great flying team. On September 19, most of them flew for an astonishing 53 minutes! Chick 912 is just happy to be in the flock and doesn't create any problems.

First Migration South: Chick #912 (and 14 others!) turned back to Necedah NWR when the Class of 2009 left on their first migration on October 16, 2009. They all had to try again the next day to follow the ultralights to the migration's first stopover site, where five flockmates landed on Day 1. Find day-by-day news about the flock's migration and read more about #912 below.

Oct. 17: Chick #912 was one of the four who flew with Richard from the old pen at Necedah NWR onward to Stopover #1 to bring the number of chicks there to 11. Go, #912! Pilot Joe Duff took this photo of Richard and the four.

Oct. 27: On today's flight crane 912 (and several others) didn't follow well. They turned back to old Stopover #1 and had to be boxed and driven to Stopover #2.

Nov. 1: Hooray! 912 (and ALL the others!) flew the distance to Stopover #3. No crates needed!

Last updated: 11/02/09

Back to "Meet the Flock 2009"