Journey North Whooping Crane Migration

Photo: Marianne Wellington

Meet the 2009 DAR Whooping Crane Chicks!

Crane DAR #36-09

Date Hatched

June 15 , 2009

Gender

Female

Pre-Migr. Weight: 4.8 Kg

Egg Source: ICF

Permanent
Leg Bands

Left Leg
W/G

Right Leg
W/R

PTT

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

Personality
DAR 36-09 is a tall, lanky chick with a mild disposition. Even though she is almost twice the size of 38-09, 36-09 has been tolerant of DAR # 38-09, who was housed in the adjacent run/pen section at ICF. At ICF the two of them had been exercising, foraging and hanging out in the chick yard together for a few weeks. When the chicks were moved from ICF to nearby Necedah NWR on July 21, these two ended up sharing a run. They are doing extremely well together. Chick 36-09 has a green band on her left leg.

By mid-August, 36-09 had become the most aggressive chick in the group. However, sometimes she got put in her place by #37-09. She was a good flyer by the end of August but picked on the two youngest chicks when their protective buddy was kept apart from them due to a leg injury.

October weather brought sun, wind, rain and snow. The chicks seemed to enjoy testing their wings in the winds. Several days they birds made flights where they were almost out of view flying both to the north and south of their pen site. A couple of times they were out of view for a period of time, and someof the flew over to visit the ultralight chicks in their pen! We couldn't tell which chicks did that because they didn't get banded until Oct. 13. They are building up their flight strength in these final days or weeks before migration.

The nine DAR cranes were released on the evening of October 24 on the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Signals from the radio transmitters on the birds' leg bands will help biologists from ICF and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as they track movements of the released DAR cranes now and throughout their migration. Stay tuned!

Notes by Marianne Wellington, ICF. Thank you!

Fall 2009: Dar 36-09 and 37-09 were released together on northeastern Sprague Pool near adults #311 and #312. That night 36-09 flew to roost on Goose Pool. Her radio signals indicated she may have joined with adults #408 and 519. On Oct. 27, DAR 36-09 and 37-09 left Sprague Pool and joined their other DAR flockmates who had gathered at Site 3/ERP. But 36-09 separated from this group on October 29 and began associating with adults #310, W1-06, 412, 101, DAR 27-05, flockmate DAR 42-09 and sandhill cranes, but she returned to the refuge each night to roost on Rynearson Pools. Will she soon follow older cranes south and learn the migration route, as experts hope?

Migration History

Last updated: 11/06/09

Back to "Meet the Flock 2009"