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Meet
the New 2005 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2005 of the Eastern Flock |
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Crane
# 514 (14-05) |
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| Date
Hatched at Patuxent |
May 19 , 2005 |
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| Gender |
Male |
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| Date Arrived in Wisconsin |
July 13, 2005 |
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| Weight
Aug. 31 Permanent Band Colors Left Leg: R/W/G |
5.3 Kg Right Leg: G/W radio USFWS bands |
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Personality and History: Scroll Down for Most Current
Migration Training:
Started out as a pretty small chick but is active and seems fine.
He was beat up by #513 on May 28. He is a very scared little bird
pretty much all of the time. This chick had a broken toe and then
later cracked some ribs in a fall, so it missed training and socializing
sessions for a whole week. He stayed back in Maryland when cohort
2 was shipped to Wisconsin so he could recover from injuries. Chick
#514 arrived in Wisconsin on July 13 with the chicks in the youngest
group, cohort 3. Then both #508 and #514 were reunited with their
old cohort 2, now at their new summer home on Necedah NWR. The two
chicks fared well on the journey and began to drink and eat upon entering
their new pen with their old cohort. #514 has a very crooked toe but
runs and jumps right along with the rest of them.
By July 21 he trained without any trouble or sign of a limp. All the
cohort 2 birds followed the trike well, and one of the birds even
got off the ground for about 50-60 feet. However, pilots couldn't
tell exactly which bird flew because all of the chicks' uniquely colored
and numbered leg bands are now all caked with mud!
On August 28, Cohort 2 joined the younger Cohort 3 birds to live at
the same pen site. When both groups were let out to mix with each
other for the first time, #514 and #524 chased and bit each other.
They jump-raked each other too (jumped into the air and kicked out
at each other with their sharp claws). The handlers said they behaved"
like jerks" towards the other birds.
AFter several days of struggling after the health checks, Cohort 2
finally had a great flying day on Sept. 9. All 8 birds took off from
the runway on the first try and never looked back. They flew for about
15 minutes, and stayed with the pilot for the entire flight!
On September 15, the combined cohorts 2 and 3 took their first training
flight together! Chick #514 is Number One in dominance. This aggressive
bird is IN CHARGE of all the other birds. He follows the handlers
and trikes really well, but he can be hard on the other birds.
History
First Migration South: Chick #514 left Wisconsin
for his first migration on October 14th, 2005. Read day-by-day
news about the flock's migration to see what happens.
Chick #514 landed safely with the flock at the temporary
holding site at Halpata Preserve in Marion County, FL on
December
13. The cranes will be moved to their final release pen in
mid-January after all the older cranes have dispersed from
the pen site.
On January 10, #514 made it to the final pen site at Chassahowitzka NWR on day 2 of the pilots' attempts to move the flock. On the second day of trying, the birds slowly became familiar with the idea of again following the ultralight after a month's vacation. Richard and Brooke managed to get #514 and 5 other birds far enough from the pen that they fell into line and followed the 26 miles. HOME for the winter!
Spring 2006: Began first spring migration from the "Chass" pen site March 28 with all flock members except 520. This flock of 18 split at roost time on March 28, and fourteen juveniles (501, 502, 503, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 512, 514, 519, 523, and 524) stayed together. They probably roosted near the confluence of Turner, Crisp and Wilcox Counties in Georgia. They didn't move the next day. On March 30 they resumed migration and roosted in Hamilton County, TN. The next roosting place was March 31 in Spence County, KY; April 1 in Jefferson County, IN; April 2 and 3 in DuPage County, IL; April 4 in McHenry County, IL. (past Chicago). They are determined to get back to Wisconsin! They flew two days in rain, and in stong headwinds on April 4. On April 5 they resumed migration, stopping in Sauk County, WI—just short of Necedah NWR! Tracker Richard Urbanek was monitoring them the morning of April 6 when they took off. They completed spring migration as they passed the SW corner of Necedah NWR just after noon. (They kept going! They landed, foraged, and roosted that night in nearby Trempealeau County, WI.) Spent summer in the core reintroduction area.
Fall 2006: He began migration (together with female 521) on Nov. 11. By Dec. 5, #514 was reported in Florida with other subadults in Pasco County. He wandered with them in normal behavior.
Spring 2007: Began migration March 19 (with #408 and #501). They arrived together at Necedah NWR on March 29.
Fall 2007: #514 began migration from Wisconsin on November 21 along with #511, 307, 402, 412, and W601 (the flock's only wild-hatched chick so far). Cranes #511 #514 and W-601 were reported safely arrived in Hernando County, Florida, on December 2. He was found with #408 and #519 in Hillsborough County, FL on Dec. 19.
Spring 2008: After wintering south of Tampa, #514, #519 and #408 were the first cranes to begin their journey north on February 26. A March 18 report of three whooping cranes in Morrison County, Minnesota, may have been these birds.
Fall 2008: Migrated from Wisconsin in a group of other whoopers that reached Alachua County, Florida by Dec. 31/January 1.
Spring 2009: Cranes #307, 408, and 514 began migration from Alachua County, Florida, on March 5 or 6. Reported in Greene County, Indiana during March 9-15. Confirmed at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin on March 19!
Fall 2009: Began migration with male #712 on November 15, a day with clear skies and north winds to help push them south. Amazingly, they met up with a pair (#401 and #508) and another single crane (#829) at the same location in Winnebago County, Illinois! All three "groups" had started out from three different locations. He completed migration to his previous wintering area in Florida's Alachua County.
Spring 2010: Male 514 began migration from his Florida winter territory between March 5 and March 16. He was reported in flight over Indiana Dunes State Park, Porter County, Indiana, on April 12. He was last observed on Necedah NWR in May 2010. He has a nonfunctional transmitter and cannot be tracked.
Fall 2010: See Spring 2010, above.
Spring 2011: See Spring 2010, above.
Fall 2011/Winter 2012: Male 514 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing for so long.
Last updated: 2/20/12
Back to "Meet the Flock 2005"
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).