Whooping Crane Migration Update: March 28, 2003
“The whooping crane migration has started! My census flight March 26 indicated that up to 14 of the 184 whooping cranes in Texas had started the migration. They must have departed on March 24-25, the only days with favorable tail winds since my last flight on March 19th. “If you think of the cranes with their magnificent 7.5-foot wing spans, why do you think they wait for tail winds to migrate? Maybe if someone in your class has really long legs, think of them trying to run from the US to Canada. Wouldn’t that person wait for a ride or buy a bus ticket to get there faster? The cranes do the same thing; they wait for the best conditions to make the trip easier, and tail winds sure help. But they can’t wait too long.” Go to Tom’s full report to discover more fun and facts, and look for:
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Wow! Way ahead of last year’s April 9 departure, four of the yearling cranes are underway, and one is already back in Wisconsin! (The straggler is #5-01 [yearling #5], who remains with the 16 still-wintering chicks in the pen at Chassahowitzka.) Heather Ray gave this update on independent yearling female Crane #7, who seems to prefer migrating alone since she broke from her flock last spring on the first journey north: “Crane #7 was last seen on March 17 in Jackson County, Indiana: 3 miles WNW of our stopover location at the Muscatatuck NWR. She was spotted by Mike Oliver, the refuge Manager as he drove to work that morning!” Sara Zimorski shares other exciting details: “The latest news is that on March 25 Colleen, an ICF intern working on the project, flew in an airplane and located #6-01 in Dodge Co. Wisconsin! He was in a tilled field adjacent to a wetland with about 300 sandhill cranes.
“On that same day, Crane #1-01 and #2-01 started their migration north about 11:20 EST. Lara Fondow, also an ICF intern working on the project, detected them flying north with the cell phone/radio receiver scanner system Richard has set up at the blind. This system is set up to allow them to call a phone, which automatically answers and then they can listen to the signals of each bird's transmitter and know they're in the area. Because she was able to hear #1-01's signal near the pen, Lara knew he and presumably #2-01 were flying over the area. (#2-01's radio no longer works and her PTT antennae broke off so we can't track her, but we have been able to keep tabs on her since she's stayed with #1-01). They passed by the Chassahowitzka shop area at about 12:30. Lara alerted Richard Urbanek, project biologist, and began tracking the signal by ground vehicle. The birds passed Richard’s location on the north end of Crystal River State Buffer Preserve at about 1:00. Although Richard couldn’t SEE the birds, he believed they were together as he began tracking them. His equipment showed the two whoopers crossed the Georgia state line at 4:55 p.m. At 6:23 the birds landed and spent the night in Berrien Co. GA. Richard will likely keep following them for a few days and then come back to help Lara take care of the chicks, and be ready to track them when they leave.” Sara continues, “On March 17, Crane #7-01 was seen and positively identified by her leg bands near Muscatatuck NWR in Indiana. We haven't had anything confirmed since then but there was a sighting of a whooping crane in Lake County, Indiana on March 23.” Stay tuned!
(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) The 16 chicks aren’t going anywhere yet. Here they are: feeding, strutting and preening. “Cranes spend 90% of their time in late winter-early spring preening,” says Journey North’s ornithologist Laura Erickson. “Why? It feels good! Growing feathers are itchy. Preening helps open the new feathers and relieves the itch. Preening also helps them to keep mites, lice, and other parasites and biting insects under control. Also, while they're preening, their skin gets a little exposure to the ultraviolet light from the sun, and that ultraviolet light helps their bodies to manufacture Vitamin D. Finally, cranes spend a lot of time near water--salty water in winter. Their feathers would dry out and get brittle without conditioning oils from their preen gland, which is just above their tail. The conditioning oils keep their feathers supple and beautiful, the way hand lotion helps protect skin for people who keep their hands in water a lot. Notice how their necks can turn and reach all the way back to their tails to wipe their bills on this important oil.” In the Florida pen with the still-wintering chicks, yearling Crane #5 continues to dominate the social hierarchy. He has turned into a bully! He mainly picks on four chicks in particular. “What’s interesting is the birds he picks on most are not that high in the hierarchy and don’t really present a challenge to him,” says Sara. Which chicks does #5 pick on? What does he do to them? Why? And which chick does #5 seem to favor and protect? Find out here: Who’s Who and What’s What in the Eastern Flock Sara’s and Lara have shared many new comments describing the Eastern (ultralight-led) cranes they’ve been watching over all winter. Find out who’s top bird among the chicks, who gets picked on by yearling Crane #5, and which of the yearling cranes have started or finished their spring migration! We add all the latest news to the crane biographies:
Sara and Jessica Otto are two students making a difference in the lives of kids and cranes! When Sara was in 6th grade, she started a program called Change for Cranes (CFC). Students in her school, Prairie View Elementary near Mukwanago, Wisconsin, collected enough spare change (coins) to adopt not just one, but ELEVEN cranes from the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. (The cost to adopt is $45.00 per crane.) Sara's younger sister Jessica recently became her partner in CFC. Each wrote a letter to tell you more: Imagine you are in a classroom where Sara and Jessica are telling you about Change for Cranes. They have plenty to show and tell. They even have pizza or ice cream to share! These classroom photos let you see for yourself: Last time, Tom Stehn asked you: “How do you think the cranes ‘know’ that it is still too early to start their migration? What clues do they use to inform them? Hooray for Mrs. Koontz's third grade class. They know the answer: “We think the cranes know that it is too early to migrate because the photoperiod is not right yet and the weather is still too cold.” Way to go, third graders! Tom Stehn has more to teach us: “As the days get longer in the spring, this triggers physical changes in cranes. Scientists can measure these changes by the amount of weight gain and by analyzing hormones found in the blood. When the days reach the right length and the birds are physically ready, off they go. They reach this physical condition at different times. Thus, migration departures are spread out over a period of as many as 6 weeks. What a determination they have to fly 2,400 miles to their nesting grounds in Canada.” Sara Zimorski, who monitored the chicks over the winter in Florida, puts it this way: “How will our young birds know when it is time to migrate? As for most living things, the most important time-keeper is the length of daylight, or photoperiod. The lengthening days trigger a hormonal response in the birds. They may also use proximate clues such as temperature and vegetation changes. As migration time nears, the birds become increasingly restless--peering up at the sky, flapping their wings, and squabbling with one another. At Necedah NWR, we also often saw them soaring in thermals, a technique used throughout migration to conserve energy and gain altitude.”
“What date do you predict for the first departure of the new Eastern flock? Do you think all the chicks will leave at the same time?” Iselin Middle School/grade 7A students Jelani, Smit, Kevin, Jason predict the first departure on April 15. “We believe that the chicks will not leave at the same time.” April 28 is the prediction from Gurveer, Jennifer, Nicole, and Nilay at Iselin Middle School/grade 7A. “This winter up north has been really cold. We think they will wait for it to warm up.” Remember: Once whooping crane chicks have made the migration ONE time, they know the way for the rest of their lives. Chicks in the Eastern flock had to learn the route from the ultralight planes because they were captive-bred and didn’t have migrating parents. But wild chicks like the ones who followed their feathered parents from Canada to Aransas learned the way from mom and dad.
This many-part question was:
Congratulations to these analytical seventh graders from Iselin (New Jersey) Middle School for their answers: Kaitlyn, Sunaina, Peter, Thomas Lauren, Jordan, Cindy, and Ruchi. Well done! How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-crane@learner.org Copyright 2003 Journey
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