Juvenile Whooping crane #412 (left) and two adults (105 & 204)
roost in shallow water in Thomas County, GA., after their first day
of spring migration. Crane 412 is the only member of the Class of
2004 that did not depart with his eleven flockmates on March 25th.
Instead he stayed at the winter pen site with the two adults.
Pictured above are Whooping cranes 301, 309 & 318, all of whom
summered last year in Michigan and then migrated south to winter in
southeast North Carolina. The trio was monitored over the winter by
OM fall migration volunteer Walter Sturgeon, and president of the
Whooping Crane Conservation Association.
These images were captured by Walt on the morning of March 30th - on what turned out to be their last day at their Jones County, NC winter
area. In the above image the cranes are just beginning to lift off
from the winter habitat to begin the long trip northward.
Walt had taken his usual position in a deer blind just moments
before the three white birds lifted off; thermalling high into the
air and proceeding northwest.
Over the next few minutes he listened to the beeps on his telemetry
receiver as they faded in intensity, indicating that they had
continued on course and were indeed journeying northward.
