Personality and Training: Crane chick #4-14 was dubbed "Peanut" by Brooke soon after hatching because he was so small. "I swear he’s a mouse disguised as a crane chick!" exclaimed Brooke, who was one of his daily caretakers. This chick turned out to be the ONLY male in the Class of 2014!

Chick #4 got a late start due to health problems, but soon he was back in the lineup for ground school training. He had his first On/Off trike engine conditioning session May 25 and wasn't scared at all. Soon he was following the trike around the circle pen along with the other six chicks, all girls. He joined right in. See what happened as his training unfolded:

Exploring
Image: Doug Pellerin

Crane #4's leg has not healed as quickly as hoped and was re- injured a week ago as he played on the runway. He has been patient and brave and good-natured, even when the doctor put a leg brace on him September 19. He was grounded for about 3 weeks. During that time the team let him out for exercise on days when it's too windy for the aircraft to fly to help build muscles and endurance.

October 6: Weather won't permit the migration to begin today, but the team hopes to give #4 a private training session so he gets the benefit of the air currents off the wing to help his flight as he gains endurance. How will he do on migration? Heather says: "The team may fly the six girls to the first migration stop, then come back and get him so he has his own aircraft. If he can't make the entire five miles, we'll have to crate him, but he was a great follower prior to his hock injury so we're hopeful he still is!"

Crane #4 HATES puppets but he's very docile to the costume. Like a little puppy, he will will follow the costume anywhere.

October 16, 2014: Day 7 After being grounded by wrong winds or rain for 5 days, the birds were eager to move on. All seven formed up as pilot Richard took off, but the air grew trashy as they rose upward. They must have said NO WAY and turned back to their pen to await a day with better flight conditions.

Richard later said the second bird from the wing was Peanut, #4-14, making a great start!

November 25, 26, and 28, 2014: Days 47, 48 & 50 Cranes #4 and #10 were held back on these three flights, slipped into their crates before the aircraft arrived to take off with the others. They were driven while the others flew. Without #4 and #10 to lead them in dropping out, the other five flew with no problems at all. All seven birds were reunited again at the new stopovers.

Cranes 4 and 10 were held back because they've dropped out of the flights leading the other birds with them. It's not their fault: Crane 4’s issues started with his leg injury, and Crane 10 learned the wrong lesson after weeks of not flying due to all the bad-weather days in the north. They traveled much of this migration in a cardboard box (see right), riding over roads aboard a van.

The team still hopes to include these two birds, one at a time, in hopes it learns by example and falls into line with the others. They also hope that the five good followers have regained their lost loyalty to the plane and will be less inclined to follow one dropout bird if the lesson doesn’t take on the first try.

Dec. 23: Freedom!
Image: Colleen Chase

Departed St. Marks with #5-12 and the other four remaining juveniles in the Class of 2014 on April 3! Everyone hopes these crane-kids, who have a gap in their knowledge of the migration route between Tennessee and Wisconsin due to being trucked most of the way, will stick with #5-12. He led them and stayed with them into northern Illinois but left them there on April 8 (click on map). While the youngsters stayed in that location due to stormy weather, Brooke and Colleen monitored them from a safe distance so as not to spook them. They wandered when weather permitted, and landed at Union County, Kentucky—one of their migration stops on the journey south—week ending April 25. They seem to be restless and know they need to migrate, but can't "find north."

May: The team decided it was time to help them get home, but cranes #4 and #3 had gotten separated from the other three during one of the many storms. Crane #4-14 (aka Peanut) was in good habitat and very close to the area where number #3-14 was found, but both were inaccessible for capture. Crane #4 does not have a remote tracking device and must be tracked using the receiver and antenna that detects the beep from his radio transmitter. The team will keep trying and plans to recapture and relocate #4 and #3 to Wisconsin to join their other flock mates, already safely there and released.

On May 13 Peanut was located and safely captured in Union County, Kentucky and transported approximately 50 miles the pen where the previously captured #3-14 was being kept. On the night of May 14, the two wayward cranes were crated and driven through the darkness to Wisconsin. They were released by Heather and Joe at White River Marsh at sunrise on May 15—"migration" complete!

He wandered for a while but ended up with a "summer pals" group that included males#4-12 and 5-12 and three females: #3-14, 9-14 and 10-14.

Fall 2016: Hooray! Crane #4-14 was finally located! In December, he showed up at St. Marks NWR in Wakulla Co, FL, spending time around the pen where the Class of 2014 was released upon their arrival last year in Florida. He was with three other Whooping Cranes, and the team was thrilled to get the news. He spent time with mateless male 5-12 at the St. Marks pen site where both these birds had landed ias juveniles on their aircraft-led migration.

Peanut stuck with his buddy #5-12 even after the other adult pair left March 11 on their migration. Will Peanut and #5-12 migrate north together as buddies? Will Peanut return to Wisconsin? Last spring he did not, and was missiing until he showed up back at St Mark’s one day in December. (The team thinks maybe peanut went back to S. Illinois and the Ohio River, where he was caught for relocation the spring before.)

Spring 2017: Crane 4-14 (a.k.a. Peanut) began migration March 24 with buddy #5-12. He did not, however, return to Wisconsin's White River Marsh on March 31st with #5-12. He DID show up later, and dismayed everyone when, on the evening of May 8, he intruded on the pair of cranes incubating the very first nest in White River Marsh. As the nesting pair frantically attempted to drive 4-11 away from the nest (photo at right), their precious eggs — just one day away from hatching!—were eaten by a determined coyote in a stunning loss. The event was recorded on the nest cam placed there in hopes of seeing the eggs hatch.