What's #819 Doing in North Dakota?
An April 26 sighting report on a Whooping crane in North Dakota
included the evidence of green-white-green
bands on one leg, and a conventional radio transmitter mounted
on red and white bands on the other leg. Tom Stehn replied to the
observers with this message:
"We
think it is male bird #19 hatched in 2008 at Patuxent WRC, and
later transported to Necedah NWR in
central Wisconsin in summer as part of the group that followed the
ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin
to Florida last fall, where it wintered at St. Mark's NWR.
"Based on the tracking this spring, it migrated correctly back
to the core reintroduction area in central Wisconsin where it
was last seen
April 23rd. It then apparently went into its spring wandering phase
that sometime occurs, especially with 1-yr-olds. Biologist Richard
Urbanek doubts that it will stay in one place, at least not currently.
It knows where Wisconsin is and will return there at an unknown time."
Photo USFWS
