Going
Nowhere
+0 Miles
Joe said,
"It seems this entire migration has been one long weather delay punctuated
by
single
days
of great progress." After a GREAT day yesterday,
today's gusty winds would make flight too dangerous. They're firmly on the
ground.
The
Other Wild Whoopers
Meanwhile,
just one state away, 21 of the previous years’ cranes have
successfully reached Florida. And
over in Texas, 216 whoopers (187
adults + 29 young) in the only natural flock are now on
their wintering grounds. One
more whooping crane is in extreme South Texas in Hidalgo County near
Hargill. This is believed to be the 2004 juvenile that had separated
from its parents last fall and spent the 2004-05 winter with sandhills
near Bay City, Texas north of Aransas. It is the 217th documented
in the flock this fall--a tie with last winter's
record peak population of 217. An estimated 94% of the flock has
completed the migration. Yesterday 3 more whoopers were reported
but not confirmed. If these 3 are really there, the
flock size would be at a record 220!
At
the whoopers' winter home in Texas, Tom
Stehn found a surprise on yesterday's flight.
The “twin” family
in Sundown Bay was present with only 1 chick. He thought that
a lone juvenile found about 3 miles to the south must have been
one of the twins. "I have no explanation for why one of
the twin juveniles
is now on its own. It acted quite nervous as
the airplane approached. Later in the day, two cranes believed
to be a territorial pair were standing right where the juvenile
had
been in the morning, and thus the juvenile presumably got displaced
to an unknown location. This young bird certainly may
be okay, but it will have a tougher winter than if
it had stayed with its parents," said Tom.
