Dear Journey North,

Three of the older "ultra-cranes" began flying northward on Feb. 26! It's early yet, but the northbound flight of #408, #514, and #519 is a sign that the older birds may be getting restless. For some of them, the journey north will soon begin!

The birds are doing well, except for #735 who is having a problem with her right wing. We’ll be looking into that early next week.

The chicks mostly still eat the crane chow from their feeders, but they find plenty to eat when foraging on their own. Last week I saw one young crane chowing down on a little crab, so that's a good sign! Before the Class of 2007 arrived at Chass, a very important improvement was made to the pen. See it here.

Sara Zimorski, Aviculturist

Photos of the Class of 2007 at their Florida Pen Site

This is a common scene I find when I arrive at the pen site. Crane #703 outside and all the other birds inside the pen. Find out why when you click here. When the birds are inside the pen, a strange and aggravating thing is when #721 comes from halfway across the pen to harass and chase #703 for no apparent reason. Needless to say I feel sorry for #703 and am not a big fan of #721 and her bullyish behavior.

A group of birds flying around the pen site and landing outside. Others keep flying for a few more minutes. Then getting ready to land . . . and landing!