Departments



Articles

Less

News: Whooping Cranes Near
December 11th, 2005

News: April Arts Show Rich in Awards
December 9th, 2005

News: Rock the Boat Art Show
December 9th, 2005

News: Conservation Zone Debate Putover til Jan. 17
December 7th, 2005

News: Who Wants to Do Raku?
December 6th, 2005

News: Whooping Crane Update
December 2nd, 2005

News: LPA Acts on Docks andParking
November 30th, 2005

News: Conservation Zone Debate -- Again
November 16th, 2005

News: Dock Fire at Natures Landing
November 15th, 2005

News: Red Tide Closes Shellfish Harvest
November 4th, 2005

News: Commission Does Housekeeping
November 2nd, 2005

News: Class of 1965 Holds Reunion
November 1st, 2005

News: Buckeye Technologies Defends Waste Water Pipeline
October 28th, 2005

News: Kids Bumped from Golf Carts
October 19th, 2005

News: Net Ban Revisited
October 14th, 2005

More

Whooping Cranes of the Year

Whooping Cranes of the Year

Jim Hoy

Eighteen Whooping Cranes, raised in captivity and trained to follow an ultralight aircraft, are on their first migration from Wisconsin to Florida. Bad weather has kept the flock grounded for many of the days since its departure from Wisconsin October 5. However, on day 25 of the trip a good tailwind helped the flock cover 63 miles of the 1200 mile trip to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.

Each year for the past six years, Operation Migration, a cooperative U.S.-Canadian venture, trains a group of "chicks-of-the year" to follow surrogate migration leaders in ultralights from a refuge in Wisconsin to the Chassahowizka refuge just south of Crystal River.


Wild-hatched Whooping Crane chick (left) with its mother who was hatched in captivity in 2002. Photo by Richard Urbanek.

To establish a self-sustaining population of Whoopers that summer in Wisconsin and winters in Florida the hand-reared birds must not only learn to migrate, but find mates and eventually rear young. That has begun! Photographic evidence of a female raised in 2002 with her chick hatched in the wild in 2006 was recently published on the Operation Migration web site. (See www.operationmigration.org for daily updates on the supervised migration that is underway.) Cedar Key News will periodically report the progress of the migrating flock of chicks. Just prior to the flock's arrival at the Florida refuge, the flock will be led past an observation area near Crystal River, FL. The "fly-over' date will be posted online as soon as the flock reaches Gilchrist or Levy County.

Editor's Note: October 28 four adult Whooping Cranes were seen flying over Gulf Boulevard in Cedar Key. They may be some of the cranes hatched in earlier years that have nearly completed return to their wintering grounds at the Chassahowitzka Refuge. The photograph that accompanies this article shows the contrast between the rust colored young-of-the-year and the white adult.

Secon Editor`s note: The Whoopers, with the help of a great tailwind, made it to Benton County, IN on November 1. They are about one third of the way to their destination in Florida.

Click for printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

 

 

© 2013
Cedar Key News

cedarkeynews@gmail.com