Can Chicks Migrate Without Following Ultralight Planes? Direct Autumn Release (DAR) Birds   Three DAR chicks and adult #102 hanging out together in the Wisconsin marsh: Oct. 22, 2005. Photo A. Shanahan A new generation of Eastern Migratory Whooping Cranes takes flight each fall. Since 2005 some of them became part of the flock by being released to see if they'd follow the older Whooping Cranes south. These special chicks are the Direct Autumn Release (for short called "DAR") birds. Now each year more DAR chicks join the new Eastern flock. It's another way experts hope to increase the new flock's numbers. What is Direct Autumn Release? It is a way of bringing birds back to the wild without using ultralight airplanes to teach them a migration route. Direct Release has two parts: 1. Raising captive-bred whooping crane chicks by the costume/isolation-rearing protocol. 2. Releasing these chicks with older whooping cranes that have successfully migrated in the past. The DAR chicks learn the fall migration route from the older birds. How Are DAR Chicks Prepared for Migration? The chicks for direct autumn release are hatched and raised for a month at ICF’s new isolation-rearing facility in Wisconsin. DAR chicks are under the care of chick-rearing specialist Marianne Wellington and other experts. Hidden in white costumes, they raise the chicks with the help of crane puppets. This is called costume rearing. The chicks are raised in isolation, away from any sights or sounds of humans. Around one month of age and before they can fly, the birds get transferred to the Necedah NWR. Here they are reared by biologists from ICF and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They will be near other whoopers in the Eastern flock. They will be near many sandhill cranes that migrate south too. These wild cranes will become their "teachers" for migration. Chicks fledge when they are around 70 days old. They are allowed to roam freely during the daytime — with Marianne and other costumed "parents" checking on them. They spend the nights in a night pen with food in the marsh so they are safe from predators. When the chicks are about five months old, the juvenile birds are released in the company of older cranes after fledging, or developing their flight feathers. (Most of the older Whooping Cranes have previously followed the ultralight aircraft on their first migration). The DAR chicks are set free so they can hang out with these older cranes that will soon be migrating. Will these older cranes help the new DAR chicks learn the way to Florida? That's the plan! In 2005 and 2006, 4 Whooping Cranes were released each year using this method. In 2007, 10 DAR chicks were released. Different Number-Names for DAR Chicks DAR chicks are named with a different numbering system than ultralight-led chicks. This helps keep them distinct from the chicks that follow the ultralight. DAR chicks have their birth ORDER number first, followed by a dash and their YEAR of birth. For example, DAR 28-05 was the 28th chick to hatch in captivity the year 05 (2005). Try This! Journal Question • Chicks in the wild learn migration from their parents, so the Direct Autumn Release (DAR) method is getting closer to the ways of nature. Make a 3-column chart to compare (1) the DAR migration (2) the ultralight-led migration and (3) the wild birds' migration. • To learn more about the DAR project, see the November/December 2007 issue of Audubon Magazine and read "Breakout" by author Phil McKenna. Produced in Collaboration with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership This Season Teachers Kids Orientation Registration Search Copyright 1997-2008 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.