Notes: Crane 414 of Cohort Two has been a problem flyer for most of the season. He repeatedly turns back and ends flights early. When we led this group to the East Site #414 dropped out of the initial flight. We attempted to lead the bird over by itself using two aircraft, but he again returned to his pen. We opted to leave him at the West Site for two days as a form of abandonment conditioning and successfully led him over Rynearson Pond to the East Site on Sunday, Sept. 5th.

Dr. Barry Hartup, veterinarian with the International Crane Foundation and Health Team Leader for the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership arrived Monday evening to perform pre-migration physical examinations on half of the fifteen cranes. The balance of the cranes were examined Tuesday morning. Each crane was fitted with a temporary radio transmitter, which is mounted on a colored and numbered leg band. The transmitters will help us to track them should any become separated during the ultralight-guided southward migration, which is quickly approaching.

The Field Team took advantage of the health check interruption and removed the divider at the East Site, which was put in place last Friday when Cohort Two was moved over to the West Site. The chain link divider allows the two groups to see each other and interact without becoming aggressive. With the new leg bands and small radio antenna that each bird now has they'll be too preoccupied to bother with each other for a couple of days.

In about another week or so Cohort One, the oldest group will be flown over to join the others at the East Site, and the divider will be put back in place until these new additions have a chance to sort out the new social order. Last year the cohorts were mixed on August 14 and 29.

We did not begin the fall migration until October 16th last year. We had hoped to get an earlier start this year, however, with the recent delays we are now projecting a target departure date of October 9th.

Notes: When the newest generation of Whooping cranes first arrive at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge they are divided, based on their ages, into smaller and more manageable cohorts. But before we can begin guiding the cranes south for the winter, the various groups must be combined into one cohesive flock. 

Because of the varying hatch dates each group is initially at different levels of ability. In past years the greatest age gap we've had to contend with was 39-days. This year the gap is 44-days. A difference of five days may not seem that much, however, when you're dealing with birds that develop quickly and can grow as much as one inch each day - it can be challenging. 

When the first cohort of birds arrived from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center on June 16 they were housed at the North Site. Two weeks later the second cohort arrived, again courtesy of Windway Capital Corp., and this group was released at the West Site. Finally, on July 15 the third, and youngest group of chicks were delivered from Maryland and were moved to the East Training Site.

Within each group there are still age differences, which result in varying ability levels. The oldest of Cohort One is crane #401 with a hatch date of April 20. The youngest bird in the same group is #408 with a hatch date of May 6 - a difference of 16-days, so when our pilots began working with the group soon after they arrived at the refuge; the older half was able to fly in ground effect air much sooner than the younger half of the group.

Thankfully, the cranes do mature quickly and it's only a couple of weeks before all the birds in any one group are at similar levels of proficiency. It could still, however, be a couple of months before all three groups reach the same flight capacity. Add to the equation that each bird comes with its own personality traits, and that within the groups there is a social structure, which could be quite different from what it is on the ground versus that in the air,  and you begin to understand how difficult a task combining the groups can be.

This is the third year there have been 3 cohorts located on the refuge and with two years of past experience we've learned the most effective method to begin combining the groups is to first introduce the middle cohort with the youngest. This means waiting until the Cohort Two cranes are capable of flying the distance to where the youngest group is housed. Once this now larger group has a chance to sort out their social structure, the oldest cohort will then be added to the mix.

Last week on a particularly cool morning the Cohort Two group (except #418) experienced a training flight of 48-minutes so the team knew they could handle the short distance needed to cross East Rynearson Pond before landing at the East Site where Cohort Three was. Plans were made to lead the group over the next time weather permitted. Crane 418 would have to be crated and moved since he is still grounded due to his missing primary feathers. 

On Friday morning Joe lifted off from the West Site strip and usual #414 broke off and turned back to land in the marsh adjacent the pen. Richard moved in, positioning his aircraft so that this stubborn bird could get airborne and fall into place off his wingtip - He did take off but again he refused to follow. Several attempts were made to convince this defiant bird to follow Richard's ultralight, and during one attempt he made it halfway across the large pond before again deciding to turn back and return to his pen site. While Richard was trying to round up 414, Joe had landed with his group of four at the East Site. 

Tatiana and Brian took their time bribing the birds with mealworms and smelt to enter the new enclosure and eventually they gave in. A short time later the still-flightless #418 was transported by crate to the new site to rejoin his group. 

So the largest of the three training areas; the East Site now holds two groups. For now they will still be separated by a chain link fence, which will allow them to socialize, without getting into any altercations, while they sort out their dominance order. As for crane 414, he remains at the West Site - experiencing a little bit of abandonment conditioning. As soon as weather permits the pilots will see if the time spent alone will have convinced him to follow his aircraft leader so that he too can be reunited with the others.

Notes: The bird bio page for the newest group of ultra-cranes is now up... The page will be updated as we learn more about each of the fifteen young Whooping cranes so please check in from time to time.

Notes: The Field Team was able to work the birds on six of the 7-days between Aug. 14 to 20.  The seven cranes in Cohort One are flying fairly consistently as a group and have logged flights of 15-minutes in the past week. They've been able to double the length of their training flights, thanks mostly to cooler than normal temperatures in the early morning hours. Cool and dry weather make for ideal training conditions as the young birds don't tire as quickly as they would in warmer, damp air. This group, which is housed at the North Site, is now capable of flying close to the public observation tower located at the Necedah Wildlife Refuge during their early morning training sessions.

Six crane-kids comprise Cohort Two at the West Site, which is the training area that is visible to tower visitors.  Among this group are three determined and cooperative flyers; two stubborn and obstinate chicks; and one with flight feather issues.  

Chicks 412, 415, & 416 have been performing beautifully, and with the aid of the cooler temps, have participated in two 30-minute training flights last week!  The stubborn pair is 414 & 417.  The first of the pair would occasionally take off with the trike but before reaching the end of the grass strip, #414 would consistently veer off and land in the marshy area adjacent the training area.  417 would take-off with the aircraft but as the pilot banked to begin his circuit this youngster would keep right on banking, and would land on the mowed area next to his enclosure. To curtail this less-than-desirable behaviour, Swamp Monster was called into action on August 19th.

Mark details the events: "Brooke Pennypacker revved the engine of the aircraft, indicating he was about to lift-off. Covered in a plastic camouflaged tarp, I appeared behind the birds to give them a little extra encouragement to get airborne. It worked great for #417 who stayed with the plane for an amazing 30-minute flight.  #414, however, returned and landed on the runway.  The next day (Aug. 20) the entire crew went to the West Site first. This time we had two ultralights, and three monsters (one on the grass strip, and another in the marsh, on either side of the pen). Brooke took off with all but #414 for a 30-minute flight.  #417 got tired and actually landed on the dirt road across the pond and near the East Site, but then he was airborne again and was able to rejoin the group as they passed over him. 

Richard van Heuvelen, piloting the second aircraft zoomed in to pick up #414 who had once again broke off for the marsh.  Well with the added monsters and the expert flying of Richard, we were able to have get in four separate flights with this bird: three for about 5-minutes each, and then one for 10-minutes or so." A huge improvement!

The youngest of the cohort is #418 and is the one with the primary feather issues. It is not known why but about two weeks ago this bird began losing several of his recently acquired flight feathers. Handlers noticed that the important feathers dangling and called in ICF veterinarian Barry Hartup for a closer inspection. After placing a hood over the young bird to lessen its stress level, an examination was carried out in the field. A total of seven primary feathers, which had not grown in properly had to be removed. With only five on each wing this bird is now no longer capable of flight until a new set of flight feathers grows in. This could take up to a month, and we still don't know if the new set will form properly. This of course means #418 may not be ready to leave with the rest of the '04 class in October when the southward migration gets underway, and may have to be removed from the study.

At the East Site the two youngest chicks from this year; both females, are finally capable of short flights. These two; referred to as the "little girls" found their wings for the first time on August 19th when Joe Duff was working with them on the strip next to their enclosure. #419 hatched on May 29th, whereas #420 hatched on June 3rd. To help put this into perspective, the oldest of the '04 Class hatched out on April 20th - Forty-four days earlier than the little girls. 

Now that they have found their wings, however, it won't be long before they too are logging longer training flights - IF the weather cooperates that is...
2004 Photo Journal

Notes: Training has been going well considering the number of down-for-weather days there have been over the last couple of weeks. When it's not raining, it's windy. When it's not windy, it's foggy. 

The seven cranes that make up Cohort One are all flying rather well, despite the down-time, and this morning logged 7-minutes of airtime in one flight.

Cohort Two at the West training site are up to 4-minutes of flight time. If weather permits, after a short break, they will go up again for an additional 4-minute foray. Cranes 414 & 416 seem to be the trouble makers in this group; often landing in the marsh adjacent the grass training area. Swamp monster has been employed as needed and hopefully this will curtail their bad habit very soon.

Sadly, a mishap this week resulted in the loss of our youngest crane #422; bringing the total of WCEP birds down to fifteen. On Tuesday, this young female underwent a successful endoscopic procedure to remove a plastic tie-wrap, which she had ingested. During transport back to the refuge she unfortunately, sustained a compound fracture to her right leg and could not be saved despite the efforts of the field and medical teams. 

The remaining two cranes in Cohort Three continue to train well and should be getting airborne, hopefully by the end of next week.

It's been a tough two weeks for everyone working to prepare this year's group for their maiden fall migration (which is approaching much too quickly). The recent loss of yearling #319 to predation, and this weeks unfortunate loss of 422 has dampened spirits. We'll try to keep the bigger picture in sight and continue to remind ourselves that in just 3 years, with your support, we've been able to return thirty-five Whooping cranes to eastern North America... More than twice as many that remained when the species very nearly vanished forever.

Notes: Last Wednesday brought fantastic news when three of the eight yearlings, which ended up in Michigan on their northward journey managed to finally navigate around the southern end of Lake Michigan, and return home to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.

Our excitement had only waned slightly when on Friday afternoon more good news arrived. The only missing-in-action Whooping crane; a 2 yr. old female #201 had finally been spotted! This elusive girl had not been seen since departing from her central Florida winter area on April 6th.  Ironically, she turned up in Michigan. Each of the thirty-six Whooping cranes in the eastern migratory population were accounted for... Team spirits were high.

Saturday morning delivered more news; this latest message, unfortunately, serves as a cruel reminder that these birds, even though they are reintroduced, are in fact wild. The youngest of last year's cohort - the male, #319 had been predated at his roost location in central Michigan sometime last week. The perpetrator, very likely, a Coyote.

Upon reading the message my reactions ranged from initially, sadness then to anger, and finally, as reality and understanding crept in, I moved on to acceptance. After all the predator was only doing what these cranes are trying to do - survive. That, I can understand. I still don't like it, but I can understand and accept it.

When the eight yearlings wound up on the wrong side of Lake Michigan in late April and early May, some within the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership thought they were blocked from returning to the reintroduction site in central Wisconsin by Lake Michigan and would not return at all this summer. This sparked a debate among WCEP members, which turned out to be almost as large as the lake that separates Wisconsin from Michigan. 

Should the cranes be collected and transported back to the Necedah Wildlife Refuge? Some felt they should be to increase the total population in the core reintroduction area. Others, including OM, felt that much could be learned from observing their behaviour, and provided they weren't using populated areas and were remaining wary of humans they should be left to their own devices - just like any other wild creature. 

The successful return of #'s 303, 312 & 316 earlier this week is evidence that the instinct to return to what they perceive to be their natal territory is indeed intact. And for the remaining four yearlings, and the 2yr. old female, the possibility remains that even though they did not make it to Wisconsin this year they may very well return south to Florida this autumn, and perhaps improve their navigational skills for next spring's northward migration.

Looking back at the past 3-years we have indeed been lucky. Of the thirty-nine Whooping cranes, which have successfully been released in Florida following their inaugural migration journeys with our aircraft; only four have been lost. Two,  to Bobcat predation (#'s 104 & 110) during the 2001 winter season; Another, #207 was lost following capture and relocation from South Dakota to Wisconsin when she developed capture myopathy and was subsequently euthanized. The death this week of yearling #319, to very likely Coyote predation is the fourth. 

Is capturing and relocating the remaining cranes in Michigan worth the risk of losing another to capture myopathy? And just because we've not yet lost any to predation in Wisconsin doesn't mean there aren't predators there...

THEY DID IT!!!

Notes: Three of the eight yearling cranes that found themselves on the wrong side of Lake Michigan during their spring migration from Florida have returned to the Necedah Wildlife Refuge!

ICF's Lara Fondow reports this morning when doing a routine scan of the transmitter frequencies she heard faint beeps from the two females #303 & 312, as well as their male companion #316. The signals indicated they were airborne and traveling toward the refuge from the northeast. The last confirmed location for the three yearlings had been near St. Joseph, Michigan last Friday. (more details soon)

July 18: The only birds that did well this morning were the three youngest, which arrived 3-days ago. 

July 17: No training - windy.

July 16: Brooke Pennypacker worked cohort two this morning, while Richard van Heuvelen flew to the North site to train the cohort one birds. At the North site, all of the birds came right out and followed really well. They were all getting up in the air, with 401, 2, 3 & 5 being fairly skilled flyers now. There is a substantial enough age gap between the four oldest chicks in the group, and the three youngest (406, 7 & 8) to leave them behind during their short flights.  Joe Duff landed at the East site and spent time with the 3 chicks that comprise Cohort Three, and which arrived yesterday. These three have never seen the large wing of the aircraft prior to this morning so most of the session involved just letting them feed and hang out under the wing. 

The crew mowed the grass at the North site in the afternoon, which meant that Mark Nipper, Vicky Trabold, and Patuxent's Barb Niccolai, dressed in costumes, led the chicks away from the site to an area where they can't see, nor hear the mower. But just in case any of the birds decide to head back to the site, the person using the mower still must be disguised in  costume. 

The time away from the site is a great opportunity for the handlers to just hang out with the young birds and act like cranes, as they explore and forage in the wetland. The best part of their time away today was that Mark was finally able to obtain a stool sample from #401, after many unsuccessful attempts. 

July 15: No training - RAIN. The final 3 chicks arrived at noon today, bringing our total for the Class of '04 to sixteen. This smallest cohort will be housed at the largest training site, and will have it all to themselves until we begin combining the three cohorts later this summer.

July 14: Every week we are required to collect fecal samples from each of the crane chicks, which we gladly hand over to WCEP veterinarian Barry Hartup from the International Crane Foundation. After three years of experience, we have found the best method of procuring these is to let the birds out of their pen, and just let them flap and run around on the training area. The excitement and activity seems to get stuff circulating and moving around inside them, until eventually, it appears outside of them.

The collection process basically requires watching the business end of each bird and waiting for nature to take its course, which normally doesn't take very long. Once a bird does its business, a sterile popsicle stick is used to collect the um, dung, which is then placed inside a sterile plastic tube. Of course, first the bird has to, well, poop. 

We have attempted on numerous occasions to collect a scat sample from crane #401 since early last week when we successfully collected donations from all of the other birds. Each  attempt involves 2 or 3 costumed handlers, each armed with the mandatory crane puppet in one hand, and a popsicle stick in the other; watching (and waiting) for this one crane chick to defecate... We've been watching the butt of this one chick every time we go out to the North Site in hopes of completing our collection.

It was too windy this morning to train so we set out for the North site to replenish feeders and with wooden sticks in hand, were were determined to collect poop from #401. We let the group out onto the training area, and began our surveillance of his behind. 

The group was having fun jumping and flapping, and while it was too windy for the ultralights to get airborne, the cranes thought conditions were just right to test out their new primary feathers. A few of them, including the oldest of the group, #401 got up in the air and flew really well in the high winds… Amused by their antics, it took a moment for us to realize that we had been thwarted - yet again.  We watched helplessly, as from about 50' in the air and 100 yards away from us, crane #401 finally let one great movement fly. Never before has one bird-turd had so many disappointed sets of eyes following it as it came to settle... somewhere... in the marsh.

Notes: Flight conditioning continued with cohort one at the North-training site where the three oldest chicks are now able to fly the length of the runway in what we refer to as "ground effect" flights. With the 16-day age difference between the oldest and youngest of this cohort  it will be better than two weeks before the others catch up. 

Cohort One was introduced to the full-size wing 10-days after arriving. Prior to this they were trained using the trike with the wing removed. Cohort Two has been training with the full-size wing beginning the day after they arrived. Both groups took very little time to adjust. 

During the first part of the season the older cranes from the first three reintroduction years did not interfere with the chick training sessions as they have done in the past. Apparently, a self-imposed exile due to feather molting was the reason for this reprieve, and now that the molt is complete the "white birds" are again venturing onto the training strips, and causing a disturbance. 

The toe cast was removed from #416 on July 8th and two days later, the fencing, which separated him from the others, and allowed his tiny cast to remain relatively dry, was removed. Mark reports that he immediately blended in with the others and wasted little time before exploring the wet section of the enclosure.

Chick 405 has been rather stubborn during training sessions and often had to be coerced out of the marsh that borders the training strip at the North site. After employing the swamp monster and various other tactics, a short fence was erected on July 10th to curtail this annoying behaviour. Despite his antics the rest of this group has been doing very well. 

With two cohorts at the Necedah refuge, training takes place shortly after sunrise each morning weather allows and it seems when one group has a good day - the other group has a meltdown day. Mark describes the events of July 11th: "These guys were scared when I got there. After some coaxing they all eventually came out of the wet pen. I opened the gates to allow them out onto the training strip, and they freaked. Actually, all except #417 who just turned and continued eating. Richard and I spent a while just hanging out with them in an attempt to calm them. The entire group went back and forth between being nervous and independent but 414 and 418 never came out of the pen at all. Robert and Vicki returned to the site to spend time with them this afternoon out on the training strip, but another storm front quickly moved in; complete with loud, rumbling thunder and lightning, and the chicks were scared. #412 wouldn't come out of the pen at all, so eventually the remaining birds were led back into the enclosure."

Heavy rains have curtailed training on 3 days of the past eight. Accumulations mean that the south end of East Rynearson Pond is still deeper than normal, and the dry area of the East-training site is still flooded. The team has been working with refuge staff to modify the pen, and a large portion of the dry area is being back-filled by hand; new larger gates are being installed and the outer wall is being moved up onto the runway to allow better exit and entry for the birds. Once completed, it will need to be repainted. This work is made more difficult because of the heavy rains, muddy conditions, flooding and the ever-present mosquitoes.

At the same time the field team is renovating and preparing the extended-care crane facility, which has been designed to house, and treat any injured birds, while maintaining the isolation-rearing protocol established to ensure they don't come into contact with humans.

The over-worked, dedicated, mosquito bitten, soggy-bottomed crew currently on duty at Necedah NWR includes: Mark Nipper, Brooke Pennypacker, Robert Doyle, Richard van Heuvelen and OM intern Vicki Trabold.

The final shipment of three chicks will take place later this week. These three were the last to hatch among their WCEP flockmates and because of their delayed hatch dates they were not mature enough to be included in the second shipment which took place on June 30th. 

Notes: The second cohort of young Whooping cranes arrived at the Necedah NWR on June 30th at approximately 11:15am. Again, our sincerest thanks goes out to Windway Capital Corp. for contributing the pilots, as well as the aircraft to transport the young chicks from their hatchplace at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland to their new summer home in central Wisconsin. 

Cohort Two is comprised of chicks 412, 414, 415, 416, 417 & 418. Sadly, chick #11 was pulled from the project due to ongoing respiratory issues, despite intensive medical treatments administered by Dr. Glenn Olsen and the rest of the Patuxent crane-crew. As mentioned in a previous journal entry, chicks 10 & 13 are also being held back at the facility as a genetically valuable females to help increase diversity among the captive population. 

In late June it was discovered that the male #416 had a broken outside toe on his right foot. How it happened is anyone's guess but because these birds grow approximately 1-inch each day their bones are susceptible to twisting or impact. A cast was applied to allow the toe to heal, and despite its awkwardness this trooper continued his training regime after one day of pen-rest. Because he couldn't get the cast wet or mucky his trip to Necedah was in question initially. However, the enclosure where this cohort was to be delivered is large enough so that it could be divided in two, which would keep him out of the wet section until the cast is ready to come off so he was shipped with the rest of his flockmates. In addition to the wet section, which is used for water roosting, each of the enclosures has a large shallow basin of fresh water that the chicks love to drink from and splash around in. The basin has been removed from the side of the pen that 416 is in so that the cast will remain intact. He can still socialize with the members of his cohort through the chain link fence that divides the sections and yesterday his buddy #417 was placed into the same area with him so that he wouldn't feel completely ostracized. Upon arrival at the refuge the small cast was bright white and attracted attention from the other curious chicks but now that he's had a few days to get it grubby it no longer stands out as much. He has continued his taxi-training sessions with the rest of the cohort. 

With Joe and Richard back in Ontario for their two week break, Brooke Pennypacker has taken over aircraft duties at the refuge. Brooke reports that both cohorts are already training with the large wing attached to trike. Initially, ground training takes place without the 19-meter delta shaped wing attached to the aircraft. It takes a bit of getting used to when all of a sudden there is this large white object over their heads and casting an equally large shadow on the grass beside them during training sessions. Patience, coaxing and a large quantity of mealworms is required to reassure the wary birds that everything is alright. Brooke also reports that the older chicks in Cohort One are at the hop-skip-flop stage, which means they should be getting some short ground-effect flight times very soon.

Patuxent's Brian Clauss has returned to Maryland and has been replaced at Necedah by co-worker Robert Doyle, a dedicated crane crew member that has been with the young birds since they emerged from their eggs. Mark Nipper has likewise made the trek to Wisconsin from Maryland and this week, OM intern Vicki Trabold will travel to the Necedah refuge. As soon as the few remaining later hatched chicks are shipped in a couple of weeks, Tatiana Zhuchkova the visiting aviculturist from Russia will also join the rest of the OM Field Team in Wisconsin... Actually, it remains to be seen whether we'll be successful in prying Vicki and Tatiana away as the Patuxent crew seems quite content having both of these hard workers on board, and not very thrilled at the prospect of letting them leave. (Sorry gang)

With the exception of Operation Migration Inc., each of the Founding Members of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership have other projects that that they are responsible for. In order to accomplish this important work in other areas, staff that we would normally rely upon have been assigned duties outside of this reintroduction. To compensate, OM has had to hire additional personnel. Along with the increase of OM field staff required this year, comes increased financial demands on our small but committed non-profit organization. Travel expenses are mounting as we shuffle crew between our headquarters in Ontario, Canada and Patuxent's Maryland facility to Necedah, Wisconsin. The staff also really appreciates being fed and even with the generosity of local sisters, Darlene and Cindy providing homemade sustenance on a regular basis, the food budget has increased - almost as much as the need for mosquito repellant to combat the infestation resulting from the recent monsoon season. Actually Brian Clauss suggested the crew use deet as a coffee additive in the hopes that taking it internally might be more effective at keeping the ever-present annoyances at bay.

For those out there that may not yet be as familiar with Operation Migration as others, we are a 501 (C) 3 organization in the United States, and a registered Charity in Canada. We rely on financial contributions from the public, as well as grants from foundations and corporations that care about the environment and are committed to help.

Without the continued in-kind and financial support of Windway Capital Corp. this project literally, would not get off the ground each year. Our hats are off to Windway, and the rest of our sponsors; donors; mile-maker campaign contributors and our OM members who contribute what they can - whenever they can. We've not yet reached our financial goal for this year so we could really use your help... Or if you know of someone else who may be able to help please point them in our direction.

Your past support has made it possible for us to return 36 wild Whooping cranes who are now making twice-annual migration journeys over eastern North America. With your continued support and faith in our reintroduction methods, we will continue our work until the new population is deemed self-sustaining by the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team. And as the first year WCEP cranes near breeding age, we hope you'll be with us in coming years to share in new successes. It will be a time for celebration when the first wild-hatched and fledged offspring are led south along the same migration route our pilots and crewmembers instilled in their parents.