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Meet
the New 2007 Whooping Crane Chicks! Hatch-year 2007 of the Eastern Flock |
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Crane
# 722 (22-07) |
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| Date Hatched |
May 21, 2007 |
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| Gender |
Female |
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Egg Source: Calgary Zoo |
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Permanent Leg Bands Weight
09/05/07: |
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Personality and History
Migration Training: #722 is a submissive bird near the more aggressive 724, but gets along great with #721. She came to Wisconsin on July 3 in cohort 2, the middle group of 5 chicks. By July 31, she could fly the length of the runway with ease! On August 1 she and #724 got discouraged when they couldn't keep up with the trike and landed in the marsh. When they wouldn't come back on the runway to try again, Swamp Monster had to scare them out. Chick #722 got so scared that she ran straight for the pen and banged into the fence. But she came running back when she saw the friendly puppet head waving by the trike!
First Migration South: Chick #722 left Wisconsin for her first migration on October 13th, 2007. She 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 #722 below.
Megan observed that #722 has never really caused any problems and seems to avoid the handlers more than any of the others.
She completed every flight without dropping out. The migration was completed Jan. 28, 2008.
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#722,
710 and 707 in TN
Photo Anna Fasoli, ICF |
Spring 2008, First Journey North: Began migration from Florida March 25 in a group of six flockmates. That night trackers picked up a PTT (satellite) reading on #722 in southwestern Georgia. Soon #722 and #710 split off from the others and flew a few miles away. The two resumed migration on March 26 to Bledsoe County, TN, and were joined there March 26 to Bledsoe County, TN, and were joined there on March 28 by #707. The three migrated to Morgan County, Indiana on April 8. On April 9 they were migrating, and by April 10 they arrived in Jasper County, Indiana. On April 12, PTT data indicated they were in Lake County, Illinois. On April 13 they moved to McHenry County, Illinois, 30 miles west of their previous roost. They remained there through April 19. The group resumed migration on April 20 or 21. On April 21 they passed east of Necedah NWR and roosted that night in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. At 9:30 a.m. on April 23 they headed towards Necedah NWR, landing in nearby Jackson County at approximately 4:30p.m.: MIGRATION COMPLETE!
Fall 2008: Migrated and wintered in Hernando County, Florida with cranes #709, 710, 717, and 726.
Spring 2009: Began migration from
Florida on March 18. Was in Randolph
County, Alabama by the night
of March 19 and in Champaign
County, Illinois on the night of March 22. The
signal of #722 (and presumably #710 with her) was
detected
on
Necedah NWR in Wisconsin on March 23 and both birds
were confirmed on the refuge
March 24. Trouble came when they
began staying at the nearby ethanol plant where
they found
a food supply of spilled corn. Sadly, crane 710
had grown too tame last winter in Florida
when
someone fed him corn. Since his tameness put him
in danger and might attract other birds to the
busy ethanol plant, #710 was moved to the Lowry
Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida. After his capture
at the ethanol plant, female #722 roosted at
the Necedah NWR. The next day she visited the ethanol
plant again, but was easily scared off by swamp
monster and now safely stays at the refuge. She
began hanging out with #509.
Fall 2009: She left Wisconsin Nov. 26 with #512 and several other Whooping cranes that migrated as a group before landing to roost at an undetermined location(s) in Illinois. She and 512, now traveling just with 216/716 and DAR 38-09 were next located by aerial survey while they were in flight over Clark County, Illinois, on Nov. 27. They landed to roost in Lawrence County, Illinois, and continued about 20 miles SE to Knox County, Indiana, on Feb. 6.
Spring 2010: Crane pair pair 512/722/, 216/716, and 38-09 (DAR) remained along the Wabash River, in Knox County, Indiana until they began migration on March 17. A low precision PTT reading for #722 indicated a roost location in Dane County, Wisconsin, on the night of March 20. She and 512 were detected back on Necedah NWR on March 22. No. 12-05 was not reported until 24 March, but both were likely together on 22 March.
Fall 2010: Crane names hereafter follow the naming conventions of WCEP: Crane #722 and mate #512 (hereafter #22-07 and #12-05) were reported in Gibson County, Indiana, on December 9. They arrived at Paynes Prairie Preserve SP, Alachua County, Florida, by December 30.
Spring 2011: Crane pair #22-07 and #12-05 were on their winter territory in Alachua County, FL when checked on February 24 but they were no longer detected during a check on the afternoon of March 1. Reported back at Necedah NWR by March 21. The pair made two failed nesting attempts this summer, begun on April 20 and again on May 18. The second nest failed May 22nd when a tornado passed through. The nest was found abandoned the next day and no eggs or shell fragments were found.
Fall 2011: Crane #22-07 and mate #12-05 migrated to Gibson County, Indiana, for the winter.
Spring 2012: Cranes #22-07 and #12-05 were detected in flight March 16 south of Necedah NWR and headed north. They're back! They were on a nest as of April 4. That nest failed on April 26 but they were incubating on nest #2 by May 21. These eggs were due to hatch June 17-19, but the nest had failed by June 15.
Fall 2012: On Nov. 21 pair #22-07 and #12-05 were discovered in Gibson County, Indiana, where they remained throughout the winter. Also present there were pair #16-02/16-07 and males #19-09 and #25-10 DAR.
Spring 2013: Cranes #22-07 and #12-05 completed spring migration on March 30. By late April or early May they were reported nesting but the nest failed, along with nests of many other crane pairs, during a black fly outbreak in early May. The pair did not re-nest this summer.
Fall 2013: Crane #22-07 is suspected to have died, said tracker Eva Syszkoski in November, 2013. This female crane has a nonworking transmitter so cannot be tracked, but her mate was seen on their previous wintering territory in Gibson County, Indiana, first alone but as of Nov. 9 with a different female. She has been removed from the official population totals in December 2013.
Last updated: 12/18/13
Back to "Meet the Flock 2007"
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).