Inside a Whooping Crane Migration
Young Whooping Cranes have to be Encouraged and Guided on Their First Migration
The leaders of the captive-raised Whooping Cranes in Wisconsin are working hard to keep the flock together as they slowly move south.
The Whooping Cranes raised in captivity in Necedah, Wisconsin, began their migration on October 5. They were lead to their first stopover, a brief flight of just four miles, by humans flying ultra light aircraft. The description of the first flight in the Operation Migration Journal (link below) makes it obvious that this is not a simple matter of a flock of birds lifting off with one intent.
The human leaders must get the young birds to follow, adjust their flight to gather in stragglers, and even return to the starting point to pick up birds that have decided not to venture into new territory. Passing strange features on land, like freeways and power lines, can disrupt the flock and weaker birds will tire and drop out. At the end of the day, they are all gathered up, crated and transported by road if necessary, and penned at the stopover point. It all makes you wonder what adult birds go through as they lead their offspring south for the first time.
Weather kept the Necedah cranes at stopover #1 until October 10, when they were able to continue to stopover #2 in South Juneau County - so they have not gone far but they are on their way. Keep track of this fascinating journey yourself, and learn about all the dangers and obstacles faced by birds and human leaders alike, in the Operation Migration Field Journal.
As of Oct 10, the First Family of Whooping Cranes in Wisconsin, now two parents and one chick, had not begun migration. No one has seen the second chick since Sept. 12.
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