Sara Zimorski Reports on the Eastern Flock: April 25, 2003
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Sara Zimorski rides the airboat to check
on the cranes. |
2002 Chicks
The group of three chicks (#1, #11, and #12) have remained about 126 miles NE of Necedah NWR since arriving in Wisconsin on April 15.
Chick #9-02 was no longer found in the field she had been occupying in Wilkes County, North Carolina since arriving there April 12. Her location is unknown and she is not currently being tracked.
Chick #14-02 has not been located since leaving northbound from Mason County, Illinois on April 13. Her current location is unknown, though there was a possible sighting near the border of Linn and Jones County, Iowa. We're hoping to search this area from the air sometime later this week or next week.
The rest of the 2002 chicks (#2, #3, #4, #5, #7, #8, #15, #16, #17, and #18) have remained on or near the Necedah NWR since first arriving there on April 13th and 14th. Crane #5-01 continues to associate with the large group of chicks. Cranes #1 and #6 from the 2001 cohort have also been present in the vicinity of Crane #5-01 and the chicks, but these birds don?t seem to associate with the other whoopers.
Crane #5-01 and the chicks spend time foraging and feeding on the refuge and usually roost there, but they do leave the refuge during the day to feed in cornfields and at least one night roosted in a lake off the refuge.
On the afternoon of April 19, Crane #5-01 and 2002 chicks #4 and #18 left the refuge and moved a short distance southwest. These are two of the chicks that split from the large group of 15 in Indiana, and traveled the entire migration with Crane #5-01. They have remained in this area, feeding in cornfields during the day and roosting in the marsh at night.
2001 Birds
Crane #1-01 has remained at Necedah since first arriving there on March 31.
Crane #2-01 has also been at Necedah, but she is difficult to keep track of since
both her radio and satellite transmitters have failed.
Crane #1-01 and #2-01 had been together since migrating north on their own last spring.
They behaved like a pair at times, even seeming to defend a territory. While it's
true cranes form long-lasting pair bonds, they don?t always mate for life and the
first mate isn?t always the one and only mate. Younger cranes may pair up several
times before deciding on a mate, so we weren?t totally surprised that Cranes #1-01
and #2-01 have separated. However, we are glad they stayed together as long as they
did, since it allowed us to keep track of Crane #2-01 all winter and on migration
despite her nonfunctional radios. We think she?s probably still in the Necedah area,
but visual observations are often more difficult without a radio signal to guide
us to the location.
Crane #6-01 doesn?t seem as settled as some of the others. He was originally found
in Dodge County, Wisconsin and spent some time there before moving over to Necedah.
Then he moved the weekend of April 19-20 south into Sauk County. On Monday morning
(April 21) we had several sightings reported to us of a single whooping crane with
some sandhills in an area not too far from ICF, so late in the morning a group of
us went to check it out. We first saw it flying with two sandhill cranes. Even from
a distance there was no doubt in our minds it was one of our whoopers. They are such
large birds and so bright white, it?s hard to imagine what else it could be, especially
when you see them next to sandhill cranes. When the bird landed I was able to get
a quick look at the leg bands and identify it as #6-01 just before he walked farther
back in the marsh, where his legs were no longer visible.
Crane #7-01 was last seen in Waushara County, Wisconsin but was no longer there on
April 17. Since that time there have been several sightings of a whooping crane at
Horicon NWR, which is where female Crane #7-01 spent all last summer and fall. Interns
Lara and Colleen went there to look for her, but were not able to find her. Generally,
the VHS radio transmitters worn by each crane are good for 1.5 to 2 years, so it?s
possible #7-01?s radio is failing. That would mean we?ll have to rely on visual observations
whenever possible.
Crane #5-01 just got a new radio in March while living with the chicks in the pen
at Chassahowitzka. Crane #1-01 got a new radio last October, prior to fall migration.
We know for sure that the radio on #2-01 no longer works and #7-01?s radio might
soon be dead if it isn?t already. We want to keep track of these birds as much as
possible and it?s much easier to do by radio signal so we?ll have to periodically
catch birds and replace their radios. If Cranes #2-01 and #7-01 settle into a consistent
routine and we know where they are, we?ll try and catch them sometime this spring
or summer and give them new radios.
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure
made possible by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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