Countdown to Migration: September 8, 2006 Chick Chat: Whooping Crane Chicks Get Pre-Migration Check-ups Update Your Training Timeline! Meet the Flock: Getting to Know the Cranes Crane Quiz #1 This Week's Booklet to Build Knowledge: "Whooping Crane Comeback" You're Invited: 5th Annual Whooping Crane Festival Countdown to Migration—Posted Every Friday Chick Chat: Whooping Crane Chicks Get Pre-Migration Check-ups Like many students this time of year, the chicks saw the doctor for check-ups. All 18 whooping crane chicks passed their health exam by a world-class crane veterinarian. While captured for the exam, each chick also got a temporary radio transmitter put on its left leg. The small device is fixed to a colored and numbered leg band. The transmitter signals will help the migration team to track any chick that gets separated during the upcoming journey south. With every bird so valuable, they don't want to risk losing a single one. The health checks and banding are important steps in the countdown to the chicks' first migration. Click the photo for more. Photo Chris Gullikson, Operation Migration Update Your Training Timeline! You can add "chick check-ups" to your own timeline for this year's migration. Milestones and key events (with links to photos) for the newest members of the Eastern flock are listed here: Key Timeline Events: Hatch-year 2006 Meet the New Cranes! Meet the Flock: Get to Know the Cranes Would you like to know each chick's weight? How about its leg band color? You'll find it on their life history pages. Click to see your favorite chick's biography here: Meet the Flock, Hatch Year 2006 Crane Quiz #1 While you're on the biography pages, look for some answers. We've got four questions in this week's Crane Quiz to help you meet the flock: 1. Which chick was the very first to hatch from an egg laid by wild parents in the new flock? 2. This chick has made so many landings in the swamp during training that the pilots gave him private flying lessons. He's very independent! 3. Which chick weighed the most at the pre-migration health check? Which one weighed the least? STRATEGY TIP: Remember that the cranes are numbered according to hatching order (age). How can you use this information to make predictions before you look for the answers? What factors might affect weight? 4. He always wanted to be the top dog (top crane) in Cohort 3 (the youngest chicks). He recently got mad when two adult whoopers showed up on the training strip and chased them off! Which chick? Crane Quiz #1 (Printer-friendly version) This Week's Booklet to Build Knowledge: "Whooping Crane Comeback" It's been a busy week at the Wisconsin wildlife refuge where the chicks are at "flight school." Who are these gangly and special young birds? Why are a few people hanging around silently with crane puppets while wearing baggy white sacks to hide themselves? Find answers in the first of six kids' booklets, starting this week. Plan on one booklet each week as a fun way to build background for the coming migration. Each booklet comes in .pdf format, ready to print, fold, and enjoy. Start here: "Whooping Crane Comeback" (Printer-friendly, downloadable kids' booklet) Teacher Guide Web Version "Slide Show" You're Invited: 6th Annual Whooping Crane Festival September 16 Are you lucky enough to live anywhere near Tomah, Wisconsin? If so, come to the Whooping Crane Festival on the grounds of the nearby (17 miles away) Necedah Airport on September 16. It's your chance to see the ultralight planes and meet the migration team at the festive outdoor event! Necedah Whooping Crane Festival Countdown to Migration: Posted Every Friday E-mail Summaries are posted to registered participants on FRIDAYS: Sep 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Oct 6, 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17. . .or until this year's newest Eastern whooper chicks reach their winter home in Florida! Pre-migration: Each Friday, a brief e-mail notice gives current newsy tidbits and announces a downloadable booklet for building background. During migration: When migration begins (target date is October 1), the Friday e-mails will summarize the DAILY Highlight Updates that were posted daily on the Web during the week. You'll want to go to the Web for the latest maps, facts, photos, and fun) Also on the Web: Orientation and Welcome to New Participants Tip: Bookmark the Whooping Crane Home Page Put news, maps and activities at your fingertips with a bookmark here: Journey North Whooping Crane Home Page See You Next Friday, September 16! Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure presented in cooperation with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form.