Whooping Crane
 

No Go. Nasty Weather Arrives (+0 Miles)
 January 8, 2010: Migration Day 77

Down-day #1 in Decatur County, Georgia
Photo Joe Duff, Operation Migration

 

Whew! This record-setting week brought three flights in three days with three skips. The team and birds aren't complaining about a day on the ground. There will be no miles added on this cold, windy, rainy day. On the next flight, they'll fly to Jefferson County, FLORIDA where they will spend their final time as a group of 20. In Jefferson County the group will be divided for two destinations in the final part of their first journey south. (You learned more from yesterday's report if you read Who Goes Where? Dividing the Flock.)

First Chick Arrives in Florida!
Whoopee! We're cheering for the Class of 2009 Whooping crane that arrived in Florida before any of the others! DAR #42-09 completed her first migration in the company of older ultra-crane #509. A Florida landowner called in early January to report the arrival of the two birds. When ICF tracker Sara Zimorski came to see, she said, "I hadn’t seen a chick in a long time, and I was surprised at how brown she was – especially in comparison to #509, who is a solid, bright white." HOORAY FOR THESE TWO, who will soon be joined by their other 2009 classmates.

SEE THEM LEAVE: The departure flyover viewing location for Decatur County, GA is outside of Climax, GA on Bell Dixon Road, just east of where it is intersected by Fewell Road. Click here for map You should be in place by sunrise (approximately 7:30am)— and remember: it all depends on the right weather.


(Map|Data|Animation)

In the Classroom

  • (a) How many stops are left for the ten cranes going to St. Marks NWR? (See Data link under the map at the left.) How many left for the ten cranes going to Chass?
  • (b-for-bonus) How are the other 8 Direct Autumn Release (DAR) chicks doing on their first migration? Find out by clicking here for links to each bio page. Scroll down each bio pages to "Migration History."

Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure presented in cooperation with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).

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