Journey North Whooping Crane Migration

Photo: Operation Migration

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

Crane # 929

Date Hatched

June 5, 2009

Gender

Male

Egg Source

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC)

Permanent
Leg Bands

(Attached after reaching Florida)

Left Leg		Right Leg

*Juvenile band: Black
(*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

Photo Beverly Paulan,
Operation Migration

Notes from the captive breeding "hatchery" at Patuxent WRC in Maryland:

Little 929 was introduced to the trike for the first time on June 12. It was so scary for him that he dropped straight to the ground in a cowering position. When Bev and Brooke got him to stand up again, he ate an occasional mealworm, but he was shaking so much from fright that they decided to cut the session short and give him a break. He will get many more chances to get over his fear.

Arrival in Wisconsin
Photo Bev Paulan, Operation Migration

Notes of Flight School in Wisconsin:
He was flown to Wisconsin with Cohort #3 chicks on July 10. Their first training session as a group was July 15 and 929 did beautifully. All of the chicks followed the trike and paid no attention to one another. This cohort has a wide age range so the older birds are much bigger than 928, 929 and 931. The trainers keep the three younger chicks together on one side of the pen, away from the bigger birds. They did well. Less than two weeks later, all of them 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 at the end of July, but are making progress. Go, Cohort 3! By mid August he was starting to fly in ground effect, and by the end of the month he was flying well for short distances. He just needs to build up his flying time in the next weeks and he'll be ready to migrate.

Crane 929 got picked on by #927 in the early part of the summer, and maybe it made him a bit aggressive. By the end of August #929 had turned into the typical teenager. Big for his age, he likes to throw his weight around. Bev said he would be lippy if he could talk! But because he can’t talk, he uses his beak to boss others. He jabs hard at the puppet and doesn’t back down when it the the puppet is raised above his head to be taller and show dominance. He still tries to be tall. Once when he refused to back down and kept jabbing with his beak, Bev bumped him gently. He then stuck out both wings and stomped his feet at her! Later, when Bev was bending over to check another bird, the belligerent #929 jabbed her helmet so hard that Bev got a headache. Calm down, #929! Erin said on Sep. 19: "This bird is not a big fan of Bev or I, but I can now get #929 to back down by raising my puppet over his head and standing firm. Before, Bev had to interfere and help me." Maybe #929 is learning his place!

Crane 929 is Bev's old nemesis. By September he seemed to have lost his imagined grudge against her and never pecks hard. "He pecks at the puppet, at my costume, at my sleeve and my helmet." He is still very small. This little chick's dad is from a BIG Patuxent WRC whooper named Goliath, so maybe he'll be much bigger some day.

First Migration South: Chick #929 (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 #929 below.

Oct. 17: Chick #929—the youngest—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, #929! Pilot Joe Duff took this photo of Richard and the four:

Oct. 27: Today chick 929 proved again that he's a great follower as he flew to Stopover #2 with six flockmates and Richard's ultralight. This photo was captured from the CraneCam soon after arrival of the seven "leaders."

Nov. 1: Hooray! 929 (and ALL the others!) flew the distance to Stopover #3. No crates needed! Now we can expect more of this. They are gaining strength and confidence.

Bev reminds us: "929 is still one of the largest. He stills tries to stare me down, but has grown out of his obnoxious, beat-up-the-handler phase. Typical for his age, he has a very mottled look as he sheds his tan baby feathers and the new adult white ones come in."

Last updated: 11/05/09

Back to "Meet the Flock 2009"