Photo: Operation Migration	Meet the 2009 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2009 of the Eastern Flock
	Crane # 914
	Date Hatched	May 16 , 2009
	Gender	Female
	Egg Source	International Crane Foundation
	Permanent Leg Bands (Attached after reaching Florida)	Left Leg Right Leg         *Juvenile band: Yellow (*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:

Bev said, "914 has very fat little legs and is so dark, she reminds me of a little Kodiak bear. She is also the most trusting of all the chicks. When Brooke took 914 for a walk, my heart almost melted. I looked over at the two of them and saw this little tiny fuzz ball, just 5 days old, following the costume, looking up at the huge white body next to her. She just toddled along, slowly, but never more than a step behind Brooke." Later, 913 and 914 would whirl around "like dervishes as they try to peck each others necks." The puppet reached down and gently moved between them to separate them and costumed Bev flapped her white sleeve to distract them. Then Bev would start to run and encourage the chicks to follow her instead of pummeling each other!

As the days passed, 914 emerged as the "queen" of her little group, Cohort Two.

July training in Wisconsin Photo Operation Migration

Notes of Flight School in Wisconsin:
She was flown to Wisconsin with Cohort #2 chicks on July 2. Chick 914 and all the others settled into their new pen just fine! The next day they trained with the trike on the grassy runway (with their old pal, Robo-crane). The chicks run, hop and flap but cannot yet fly.

One day near the end of July, 8 of the 9 chicks in Cohort 2 followed the ultralight well on a lap down the runway. But on the return lap, 914 and 908 decided to join naughty 918 in the swamp. Meeting up with the swamp monster (which Richard deployed from the trike by yanking on a string attached to a broom out in the swamp) convinced both 914 and 908 to leap back over the fence and get back on the runway and then into their pen. 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. As the weeks went on, this cohort (middle birds) grew to be the most independent of all the birds, and #914 had become the most submissive.

On Sep. 22 OM Intern Geoffrey watched 914 boss 928. "I figured she wouldn’t have it in her to throw her weight around anyone else but 925, another equally passive bird. But then again, I guess it isn’t hard to push around a smaller, younger, asthmatic chick," said Geoff. Female #914 also has staredowns with #925. It's as though the two most submissive females were arguing about who is the MOST submissive!

October 11: They missed the target migration date, but on October 11, the team tried to combine a training session with a short flight over to a remote part of the refuge where a travel pen was set up. Only six birds cooperated, and 914 was not one of them. She took a pounding from the adult pair, who literally flattened her in the tall grass as she tried to run for cover into the nearby woods. There was some blood on her back and she was scared when the costumes approached, but they patiently played calls from the vocalizers to calm her. Brooke arrived to help as they walked her back out through the thick brush. Erin stayed with 914 while Bev and Brooke readied a crate. Soon 914 was loaded onto the back of the truck for the drive to the travel pen site. There she was released and went into the pen to join 8 other flockmates, the only ones who made it over to the new pen that day. She seems just fine after her adventure.

Back to "Meet the Flock 2009"

This Season Teachers Kids Orientation Registration Search
	Copyright 1997-2009 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.