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Meet
the 2009 Whooping Crane Chicks!
Hatch-year
2009 of
the Eastern Flock
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Date
Hatched |
June
3,
2009 |
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Gender |
Female |
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Egg
Source |
International
Crane Foundation |
Permanent
Leg Bands
(Attached
after reaching Florida)
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*Juvenile
band: Light blue
(*pre-ship
health check at
PWRC)
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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.
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Personality,
Early Training
Notes from
the captive breeding "hatchery" at Patuxent WRC
in Maryland:
By June
12, #926
was doing great at following the trike in circle pen training. She
went half of a lap before the heat of the summer day got
too bad. But she developed leg problems. Would she even be able to
continue training and go to Wisconsin with the Class of 2009? Yes,
they agreed to give her a chance. Good luck, 926!
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Arrival
in Wisconsin
Photo
Bev Paulan, Operation Migration
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Notes
of Flight School in Wisconsin:
She was flown to Wisconsin with Cohort #3 chicks
on July 10. Their
first training session as a group was July 15 and 926 did just great.
All of the chicks followed the trike and paid
no attention to one another. She trained well as the
days passed. She came out of the pen, followed
the
ultralight
eagerly, and
gobbled
up
treats when they reached the end of the runway. These youngest
birds weren't flying yet but the end of July, but making
progress. By mid August, all of cohort 3, with the exception
of 931, were starting to fly in ground effect. By the end
of August she was airborne with the others, slowly building
up her flying time and strength.
Oct.
11: The team hoped to combine training with
a flight to a remote part of the refuge where a travel
pen was set up. The birds would be closer to their
first migration stopover. But several wayward birds
had other plans! Female 926 was one of them. She
was on the runway in front of her old pen when Erin
arrived to put her back in the pen. She spent the
night there.
along
with the other 10 birds who had also come back or
didn't
want
to
leave.
The other 9 flockmates were at the travel pen at
the farther site on the refuge. What a day!
| First
Migration South: Chick #926 left Necedah
NWR for her first migration on October 16, 2009. He
was one of only five in the Class of
2009 to behave and follow the ultralights to
the migration's first stopover site! Find day-by-day
news about the flock's migration and read
more about #926 below. |
Oct.
27: She did it again: followed the ultralight
to Stopover #2 with no problems! She was one
of only 7 to do so. Yay, #926! This photo was captured
from the CraneCam soon after arrival of the seven "leaders."
Nov.
1: Hooray! 926 (and ALL the others!)
flew the distance to Stopover #3. No crates needed! |
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Last
updated: 11/02/09
Back
to "Meet the
Flock 2009"
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