No
Go for 10. Health Checks for 10 (+0 Miles)
January 15, 2010: Migration Day 84
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What
is happening in this photo at
St. Marks NWR? Click the photo for a slide show.
Photo:
Eva
Szyszkoski, International Crane Foundation
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For the "Chass" Ten this is day #2 of waiting. Headwinds
aloft are too strong for the cranes and planes to handle.
For
the St. Marks ten, settled in their brand new pen-within-a-pen, it's
health check day. Today they will get fitted with the
leg band
colors that will identify them for the rest of their
lives. We'll soon post the new color code on each crane's bio page.
Check these bio pages in the coming months and years as the cranes'
futures unfold. You will find news of
their
migrations, future mate choices and nesting
success when at last they are old enough to lay eggs and raise
chicks.
For
you in the classrooms, it's a day to enjoy Brooke's
comments about the flight to St. Marks. It's a chance to think
about your
own lives
with our questions (see below). We'll be back tomorrow!
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In
the Classroom
• (a) Upon
takeoff, Brooke noticed: "The ten had a collective
thought balloon hanging just above them that
said, “Hey,
something ain’t right here! Where is
everybody?” as
their other ten flockmates called out from
the second pen below. So around we went . .
.
We would no sooner collect as a unit and start
on course when one, then two, and then the rest
would break and head back for the pen. But the
trike is a persuasive tool. Months of intensive
training rise to the occasion at such times,
and after a period of forever, we were collected
up on course to St Marks." When in your
own life have you been unsure because you were
doing something differently from the main group?
• (b) "As
we made our descent through the trashy air above the marsh, the birds' flight
behavior began to change; each bird staring down in awe and anticipation at all
that water and marsh, and a special excitement rippled through them.
. . .Soon into their vision appeared the pen and the two white costumed figures,
their arms flapping up and down and the loud
haler coaxing for
a landing. Then, with a low pass over the pen, 910 landed,
followed shortly by the others as I climbed in tight spirals above." Tell
about a time when
you felt a similar way when you came to an exciting new experience or place.
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Journey
North is pleased to feature this educational adventure presented in
cooperation with the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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