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Meet
the New 2006 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2006 of the Eastern Flock |
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Crane
# 615 |
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| Date Hatched |
May 21 , 2006 |
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| Gender |
Male |
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| Date of Photo: June 17, 2006 |
Egg Source: PWRC |
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Permanent Leg Bands Weight 9/06/06: 6.1 kg |
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Personality and History
Migration Training: He came to Wisconsin for flight school on July 6 in cohort two, the 5 chicks in the middle birth order. On July 18, after two days off in hot weather, he was eager to follow the trike during training. But instead of going back into the pen after the flight, he jumped the fence and ran off to the swamp! When Marie rushed into the swamp to get him, he happily followed her back to the pen. Did he get scared by himself in the swamp?
By July 28 it was clear that Mr. #615 has a mind of his own. He joined his cohort mates on the first run, but took off for the marsh on his own instead of staying with the group. After the rest of the birds finished training, 615 finally came out of the marsh and got some private lessons from Joe. His flight instructors hope he will pay better attention tomorrow!
By August, the chicks were so eager to fly that they often forgot to wait for the trike. Charging out of the pen, they take off before the pilots have a chance to get moving. That happened on Aug. 7 with #615, who took off and promptly landed in the swamp. He came out right away, though, and joined his group for training. Two days earlier, pilot Bev said, "Training ended on the same note it always does, with #615 wandering away into the marsh. Brooke and I waded in after him, and after a lot of coaxing, we finally got him back on the runway and into the pen. Boy, that bird is independent!"
On September 29, Bev had to play "Swamp Monster" to scare #615 into flying with the trike instead of landing in the swamp. Bev's Swamp Monster act worked, and 615 joined the others and flew several more circuits. On October 1, all 18 cranes charged out of the pen and flew well for at least 20 minutes! Migration is only a few days away.
History
First Migration South: Chick #615 left Wisconsin for his first
migration on October 5th, 2006. He flew
the whole first leg of the journey and landed safely at Stopover #1!
Read day-by-day news about
the flock's migration to see what happens.
Oct. 23: The trackers were put to the test soon after takeoff today! News about 606, 608, 615 and 618 landing in the field came through the radio shortly after departure from Stopover #3. With the exact location of these chicks provided by top cover pilots Don and Paula, trackers Bev and Sara went to the the birds right away to secure their safety. They were crated and driven to Stopover #4.
Nov. 3: Chick #615 was the culprit who led the other birds out of formation several times in rough air today. He caused a lot of worry and trouble for the pilots, trying to keep the birds on course. Finally, Chris zoomed in and picked up the independed chick and flew alone with him. Richard said, "Without #615 I found the birds much more eager to follow and we really picked up the pace." What do you suppose #615 had in mind?
Dec.
18: #615 is causing more worry. Today he disappeared!
The birds were reluctant to fly and four of them
dropped out on the way to the last stop between
them and their layover pen. #615 was the only one
not found. He was last
seen thermalling (rising and soaring upwards on
currents of warm air, as cranes naturally do in
the wild) with about 2 hours of daylight left.The
team hopes he found a safe place to roost. They
will
continue
the search
tomorrow,
the day the migration will FINISH.
Dec. 19: The team and flock took off without the missing #615. The 17 birds landed at the layover pen and will stay there until early to mid-January when they will take their last flight a few more miles away to the chicks' usual winter pen at "Chass" NWR. By midmorning today, trackers were airbrorne to search for the radio signal of #615. Today's air and ground search was unsuccessful, but the team is confident that he'll be found and reunited with his flock.
Dec. 20: FOUND! Top cover pilots Don and Paula took one more turn looking for #615 and found his signal! Looking down, they saw several small lakes. Sure enough, there was 615 tucked away in a remote area on one of the lakes. They radioed Richard (who was tracking on the ground about an hour behind them) the location and said #615 seemed to be waiting patiently for someone to come for him. Richard found the spot within an hour. He put on his costume. Then, out of sight of the van, he turned on his vocalizer. Chick #615 flew over and landed next to him as if to say, "It's about time someone showed up!" After a ride in the van, he's with his flock mates at last!
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Jan. 12, Moving Day: Yesterday #615 (and 11 others) didn't want to follow the trike and made it only about halfway. They spent the night in a travel pen with others that had to be crated and brought to the same site. They are still 10 miles from the final pen. The next morning in calm air and clear skies, all 12 "late" birds took off with Joe's plane. Their final flight with the ultralight lasted a charming 18 minutes. They landed at their final winter home at "Chass," where six cooperative flockmates had arrived the day before. All but one bird landed immediately. It was #615! Joe flew circles with for this eager flyer for more than 10 minutes before #615 was finally persuaded to land. They're all safe at their final winter home at "Chass." Migration finally complete!
The
Sole Survivor: Class of 2006 Ultralight-led
Cranes
On Feb. 2, the team
thought 615 died with the other 17 chicks when
violent
storms
moved
through
central Florida during the night.
(As protocol requires, all 18 birds were in the
top-netted enclosure as a protection against
the older whoopers
visiting
the pen site, but only 17 carcasses were removed
after the storm.) Then radio signals from 615's transmitter
were heard
the
night
of Feb. 3 and again on Feb. 4 near the Chass pen
site. Trackers
went into action. Later that day, they saw him
with two sandhill
cranes about 20 miles north. The sole survivor
of the ultralight-led class of 2006 is#615. After
the stunning loss, it was a thrilling discovery
and ray of hope.
How did 615 survive? No one knows. "One thought is that it was near a gate. .. in the pen and water hitting it sort of jarred it a bit, and the crane slipped out," said Jim Harris of ICF.
What will happen next? The bird is a bit young to be on its own, but managing 615 alone at the old Chassahowitzka pen site would not have been easy for workers or good for the bird, according to Sara (ICF). As for his first migration back to Wisconsin in a few months, Sara said, "He should know the way, but we'll keep a very close eye on him."
Captured. On Feb. 11, 2007, an update from trackers was posted by Liz on the Operation Migration Website: During the week, #615 kept company with both Sandhills and Whoopers. He was very active, flying from county to county. He kept returning to the Halpata pen site where the chicks stayed before moving to Chass. Because he was dry-roosting and therefore in great danger of attack, trackers decided to capture #615 and move him to safety. The Tracking Team divided the pen into two sections because #105 was also being held at the Halpata pen after being removed twice from Homosassa State Wildlife Park. Trackers moved #615 into the newly created half of the pen. Both birds are given food and fresh water and are being checked daily. Some people are calling #615 Maverick and some are calling him Houdini! The team is thinking about what to do next.
Set Free! On March 3, Bev and Brooke drove out to the Halpata pen to box #615 for release. (They had tried to release him two days prior by letting him out of the pen, but he just ran off into the woods and wouldn't fly. With all the bobcats in the woods, they couldn't allow him to stay there, so back in the pen he went.) When 615 was boxed up, Bev and Brooke drove to meet Richard in the same marsh where #615 had been flying when they found him after the storm; they figured it would be a good spot for him. Richard and Brooke carried the box to the edge of the marsh and released #615, who spent the afternoon exploring his freedom, flying around and seeming at home. What a strange winter for him! Now he is free at last. He was still on Halpata Tastanaki Preserve as of March 24. He was usually in a small wetland in a wooded area.
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#615 in Florida, April 3, 2007 Photo Stacy Kerley, WCEP Tracking Team |
Spring 2007: Chick #615 remained on HalpataTastanaki Preserve, Marion County, Florida. He was usually alone in small wetlands, openings in wooded areas, or near the pensite
On
April 30, Operation
Migration leaders announced:
"It is with immense sadness we report that
#615, the
only
surviving
member of
the
Class
of
2006,
was found dead by Mary Barnwell (Southwest Florida
Water Management District) earlier today." The
remains were found on Halpata
Tastanaki
Preserve, Marion County, Florida.
He
had last been observed alive at this location during
an
aerial survey on April 21.
He was alone and appeared to be hiding
in thick scrub shrub in a small marsh NE of the Halpata
pensite. This behavior was not normal, and he probably
died shortly after that observation was made. He
was not
found during a ground search later that afternoon
or in several searches later in the week, probably
because
of reduced radio transmission while he was on the
ground. His radiosignal was again detected from the
air during an aerial survey on 29 April, and his
remains were found during a ground search the next
day in inappropriatee habitat with thick cover. Remains
were sent to Dr. Marilyn Spaulding at the University
of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine for necropsy.
She was not able to pinpoint a cause of death, but
believed that predation was not a probable cause
of death.There were clues that
615 may have been sick from eating
metal.
Last
updated: 5/8/07
Back to "Meet the Flock 2006"
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).