A Big Week at St. Marks NWR
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Weekly Updates

The "fabulous Five" in the Class of 2012 have been at their Florida winter home nearly two weeks. Pilot Brooke is now their costumed supervisor for the winter. The bugs are buzzing. Shore birds visit the cranes' oyster-shell bar in the pond. Three big wild pigs root around in the grass. Raccoon tracks come and go. Fiddler crabs scurry about. A couple of coyotes pass by in the darkness. He checks on the young cranes twice daily. The top net on the enclosure remains, but not for long. Big events will take place before this week is over. Disney’s Dr. Scott Terrell will perform health checks. Eva Szyszkoski from ICF will apply the new leg bands with color codes that will identify these five birds for the rest of their lives. We'll be back next week with another summary of news in the next steps to freedom for the birds!

Class of 2012 in their net-topped enclosure  at St. Marks NWR in December

 

Operation Migration's Daily Field Journal

Migration updates posted daily at Operation Migration website so you can follow along.

Migration progress as of Nov. 12, 2012
Fall 2012 Migration
(map | stopovers)

 

Keep a Migration Journal

Meet the Cranes

Journey North is presented by Annenberg Learner.
Partial funding for this news update has been made possible through Operation Migration by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Southern Company through the Power of Flight Program.