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Meet
the New 2007 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2007 of the Eastern Flock |
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Crane
# 713 |
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| Date Hatched |
May 10 , 2007 |
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| Gender |
Male |
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| Photo May 20, 2007 |
Egg Source: Calgary Zoo |
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Permanent Leg Bands Weight
09/05/07: |
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Personality and History
Migration Training: Being one of the youngest in his group, he often lagged behind the others a little, but followed the trike quite well. He was dominant over 712 when the two chicks were socialized together. He came to Wisconsin for flight school on June 19 in cohort one, the 8 oldest chicks. By July 24 he and buddy 712 could fly a good distance in ground effect. He made steady progress and could fly more than 20 minutes by the end of August. He knows what to do!
History
First Migration South: Chick #713 left Wisconsin for his first migration
on October 13th, 2007. He flew the whole first leg of the journey and landed
safely
at Stopover #1! Find day-by-day
news about the flock's migration and read more about #713 below.
Crane #713 has always been a good follower of the aircraft, and he still knows what to do! He's a good, steady influence in the flock and is a fine juvenile Whooping Crane on the migration. He has completed every flight without ever dropping out!
Megan said, "713 seems to be gaining his adult colors faster than the others. The black patches near the bill are darker on him than on the others birds."
Jan. 28, 2008: Migration complete!
Spring 2008, First Journey North: On April 1 the last five members (713, 712, 706, 727, and 733) of the Class of 2007 began migration from the release site in Florida. They encountered a thunderstorm in late afternoon, shifted westward, and landed to roost in Leon County, Florida on the first night of their journey north. They continued on April 2, and once again afternoon showers made them drop out early. Four of them, including 713, landed in Stewart County, Georgia. Unfortunately, 727 dropped out about 6 miles south of the other four. On April 3rd, the four males (706, 712, 713 and 733) continued migration to DeKalb County, Alabama. On April 5, the group became three males as #733 took off by himself.
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| Tracker Eva Szyszkoski took these photos of #706, 712, and 713 in DeKalb County, Alabama. | |
The three remained at the DeKalb County stop through April 9, when they took off again. They flew until they encountered north winds, and landed about noon in a flooded cornfield in Knox County, Indiana. On April 15, a perfect day for migration, the three birds flew about 290 miles and arrived in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. On April 16 they continued straight north for at least 200 miles— and the signal was lost near the border of Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. April 17: Tracker Anna Fasoli reported: " I continued searching for 706, 712 and 713. In this part of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, habitat is mostly wooded with few marshes. I searched many marshes, but with no luck, and headed towards Necedah NWR. It is likely the 3 are still in that area since April 17 weather is rainy. Soon, they will head back to Necedah after "spring wandering" is complete! No further reports after their signal was lost on April 16, until they arrived April 30 at Necedah NWR. But #713 has his own story:
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#713 is HOME! Photo Colleen Wisinski |
HOME! At 6 PM on April 30, tracker Colleen Wisinski heard a faint beep as she was driving just north of Mather, Wisconsin in search of signals of newly arrived #706 and 712. "When I looked at the frequency, I was very excited to see that it was #713! He had been with 706 and 712 during migration, and we were worried when Eva heard signals for only two birds instead of three, so it was a huge relief to hear his signal in the area. I followed #713 up Highway 173 and thought that he was going to land at Sandhill WA (where Eva ended up finding 706 and 712). But soon I was heading past Sandhill and up Hwy 80. I had just passed Babcock, WI when the signal disappeared. I was pretty sure that 713 had landed, but I didn’t know where. I continued north on Hwy 80 and then turned west on Hwy 54, still thinking I should head toward Sandhill WA. After I turned the corner, I moved my antenna around to listen in all directions and heard a faint beep to the east, so I turned around and headed east instead. The signal got louder and louder as I drove east. It got really loud when I went around a sharp curve and out into an open area (cranberry bogs). Soon I saw a large white bird flying to the north of me, chased by a Canada Goose. I quickly grabbed my binoculars and saw the flying white bird had black wingtips. It was #713, being chased by a goose!! He soon landed at the edge of a cranberry reservoir and began preening and foraging. I watched him for about 30 minutes and Eva even came to watch him too, since 706 and 712 ended up only about 7 miles away. Then we both headed back to Necedah, very glad that we had found these three missing chicks."
He wandered in the summer and (together with 706 and 712) was reported in North Dakota in early June and in Minnesota in September.
Fall 2008: Crane #713 began migration November 15 from Marathon County, Wisconsin along with #712 and 706. On Nov. 17 the group was seen heading south from a migration stop near Indianapolis, Indiana. The three wintered in Polk County, Florida.
Spring 2009: Crane 713 (with 706, 712, and 733) remained in Polk County, Florida at least through April 4. On April 17 three of them (713, 712, and 706) completed migration to Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. Unpaired #713 wandered to nearby Wisconsin counties during the summer.
Fall 2009: By December 7, all but 11 Whooping Cranes were gone from the new Eastern flock's summer home in Wisconsin. Those 11 included pair #307 and 726, two single males (#506 and #713) and seven of this year's nine DAR chicks. They surprised experts when they chose to begin migration on a very snowy December 11, after being content to roost on ice and standing in the brisk winter wind for the previous week. They had reached Winnebago County, Illinois! The birds had moved on by the time trackers got there the next day. Eva said, "When we finally got a reading, we were all surprised to see that they had flown east of Indianapolis, Indiana, 240 miles southeast of their last location and right on track with the main migration route for Sandhill Cranes. I arrived at the location and heard all 11 signals coming from the same area. But I could not see them since it was dark outside." The next morning they made a couple of local movements before traveling only 50 miles to the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge, near the Indiana/Kentucky Border. In the first three days of migration, which was the first-ever migration for the seven chicks, they flew a total of 430 miles!
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Photos
Eva SzyszKoski, ICF
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He wintered in Florida's Alachua County.
Spring 2010: Male 713 began migration from Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Alachua County, between March 5 and March 13. He and #829 were reported together in Jackson County, Indiana, on March 15-17 and his signal was heard at Necedah by Eva on April 11.
Fall
2010: Crane #713
began migration from Monroe County, Wisconsin on
November
25 or 26 with female 36-09* (DAR). The signal of
36-09 (DAR) was detected
at
Hiwassee
WR, Meigs/Rhea Counties, Tennessee, on the morning
of December 14 but it is not known if #713 was
with her becuase his signal doesn't work and he
can't be tracked. He has not been confirmed since
the Dec. 14, 2010 sighting.
Fall 2011/Winter 2012: Male 713 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing since December 2010.
Last updated: 2/20/12
Back to "Meet the Flock 2007"
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).