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Journey North News will be posted on Fridays: Feb. 28, Mar. 14, 28, Apr. 4, 11, 18, 25, May 9 Journey North News Whooping Crane Migration Update: February 28, 2003 It looks like a wonderful year for whooping cranes! Tom Stehn reports rising numbers in the main flock after two years of decline. All 21 members of the new Eastern flock are doing well in Florida after ultralight airplanes taught them the 1225-mile migration route in fall 2001 and 2002. Will the newest youngsters head north on their own? Will they follow the lead of the one yearling that lived with them all winter? Find out what the newest flock's been up to, and decide which five of the youngest cranes YOU would chose for satellite tracking devices. Welcome back to history-in-the-making! Whooping Crane Migration Update: March 14, 2003 There?s bad news and good news at Aransas, with one less chick but many blue crabs at Aransas. Along with voices and plumage, some of the Florida birds? personalities are also changing. Read the newest details in our updated crane biographies, and find out why four chicks were captured last week. Use the banding codes to identify which cranes you see in our latest, greatest photos. Learn which five of the 2002 chicks are wearing satellite tracking devices. What happens after the batteries fail? And how will the chicks know when to go? Whooping Crane Migration Update: March 28, 2003 Here we go! Migration is underway for 14 cranes in the Aransas flock, and for 4 yearling cranes from Florida in an earlier start than last year?s. All 16 chicks and yearling #5 are still wintering in Florida, but getting restless. There?s a bully bird among them, and Sara tells the story. Meet two Wisconsin students who are working to save cranes by getting them adopted. More great photos, too! Whooping Crane Migration Update: April 4, 2003 No fooling: On April 1 the young Florida flock started their spring migration! All 21 cranes in the new Eastern flock are underway, and 37 percent of the Aransas flock are now enroute to Canada. Two HY2001 cranes are already home at Necedah. What a week for whoopers! What?s unusual about the chicks? migration so far? Why do you think these cranes are given numbers instead of names? Whooping Crane Migration Update: April 11, 2003 Whoopers are spread out between the Texas coast and the Canadian border, and Indiana and Wisconsin. Tom Stehn found more whooping cranes at Aransas this week than last week. Why do these birds need to leave soon? In Eastern flock news, solo female #14 has missed only one day of migrating, while the group of 15 waited out bad weather for a week. The whereabouts of two birds is unknown. What makes migration such a dangerous time? News Flash! Eleven Chicks Home at Necedah! Migration Complete for 15! As of Monday, April 14, eleven whooping crane chicks from the 2002 ultralight-led flock and four of the five 2001 birds were home on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin! Whoopee! Three more chicks, also in Wisconsin, are getting close. The remaining three of the Eastern flock of 21 birds are somewhere enroute. Whooping Crane Migration Update: April 18, 2003 This was one BIG week for migration! Sudden departure from Aransas and the Texas whoopers are heading for their Canadian summer home. Almost all the cranes in the WCEP program are back at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. One crane's whereabouts are unknown, and another remains in Wilkes County, North Carolina, but the rest have made it back to Wisconsin and most are back at Necedah. Some weather is cold and wet, but the cranes have adapted to survive this. Whooping Crane Migration Update: April 25, 2003 Departures from the Texas coast are on schedule, with just 2 cranes left. Several of those cranes have been sighted moving through Saskatchewan, so they?re close to home. In the Eastern flock, find out which chicks have eluded trackers and which are home at Necedah. Why do these endangered birds make such long, dangerous trips? Play our Match Game to see how you?d do things so easily done by a crane. FINAL Whooping Crane Migration Update: May 9, 2003 The whooping crane migration from Aransas is history, and chick #14 is the only Eastern whooper who hasn't reached the summer home in Wisconsin. In a game of hide and seek, chick #9 was captured in Ohio for a free ride home; find out why! Check your knowledge of this historic season with our Craniac Quick Quiz. Make origami peace cranes to celebrate the season, and see what's next. We wish the world's TWO migratory whooping crane flocks a safe summer and good nesting.             Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form                   Copyright 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form