Whooping Cranes of the Year

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.