Crane #827 showed up at the Chass release site on February 21. "He had been wintering with two other 2008 birds in Citrus County," explains Eva, "but I believe the other two cranes migrated and maybe #827 remembered there was food at the pen and didn’t feel like heading north just yet." He was one of the 8 older birds that wintered on the Chassahowitzka NWR last year. How did the team keep #827 from eating all the food meant for the Chass Five chicks? (Hint: What did they do with the feeders?)

Image: Eva Szyszkoski