Temporary Legband: Dark Blue

Personality and Training:

The youngest and the only male in the group,#11 was hatched from an egg removed from the nest of #29-09 and 12-03.

Always gentle, he was a great little bird from the start. He has always loved and followed the costume. At Patuxent WRC in Maryland, he was one of the three chicks who often paced along the fence. Maybe he'll be one of the best fliers!

July 2 was arrival day in Wisconsin for the six young cinnamon- colored Whooping cranes. None of the birds showed any signs of stress from their airplane trip-in-a-box from Maryland where they hatched. They happily explored their new surroundings for "Flight School."

Here's Crane #11 obediently following the trike down the grass training strip soon after arrival with his flock mates in Wisconsin. By mid July all six of the young birds were able to fly a few feet off the ground.

By the end of July, the colts are strong enough to fly close to the surface but not yet able to climb. "So our daily exercising consists of a high speed taxi down the length of the runway while the birds fly beside us," explains pilot Joe Duff.

"We also have early morning visitors," tells Joe. "As soon as they hear the engine approaching. Sub-adult Whooping cranes #4-12 and #3-14 fly in to see what is going on."

By mid August all six young Whooping Cranes were airborne! By the third week in August they were flying for over 20 minutes at a time, doing really well as a group. To keep them busy during their non-flying hours in the large pen, the team put chunks of watermelon in the pen for the young birds to peck at and play with. They loved it!

Delays: The departure didn't happen on September 20th because crops still covered the fields where the first stopover sites would be! The cranes continued to train on good-weather days, performing well—as usual. They were fogged in on the new target date of September 26th and again Sep. 27.

In the meantime, the team works hard to think of fun things to keep the cranes from being too bored. They have fun attacking a sunflower for the seeds to eat!

Sep. 30: Migration Begins! Pilots call these birds the Super Six because they are such great followers—not a rebel or maverick among them this year. They easily flew the five miles to the first stopover and landed right next to the trike. They all stood at attention, heads up, eyes wide and moved closer to the aircraft as the only thing familiar in a strange new environment. The plane taxied close to the travel pen and the birds stopped chasing grasshoppers to obediently go inside. Crane #11 was first in, crossing the threshold as if it were everyday stuff. Crane #2 was next and then they all came in. The Journey South is underway!

Nov. 7: After 12 days of no migrating, the next possible day to fly didn't come until November 7, Day 39. None of the birds except #2 would cooperate with the pilots. Crane #11 and the four others who wouldn't stay with the plane were boxed and driven the 57 miles to LaSalle County, Illinois as #2 completed the flight without her flock mates.

Nov. 8: Today #11 and four of the others (#1 was boxed) flew the 55 miles to Livingston County, Illinois.

January 3, 2016: Migration continued, slowed by weather delays and crane behavior challenges.

Jan. 11: Today, #11 was having a harder and harder time keeping up with Brooke's plane and the other five cranes. Pilot Joe skillfully swooped in to pick him up while Brooke continued with the other five. The little fellow finally landed. So did Joe, and the tracking van soon arrived to crate #11 to finish today's trip by road.

They flew again on January 13, 14, 24 and 30 (when they crossed the border into Florida). The longest ultralight-led migration is finally near an end.

February 6, 2016: The migration came to a strange ending on Feb. 6, 2016. Instead of being guided the final 24 miles to their new winter home by aircraft, the Class of 2015 arrived in crates. With no decent weather ahead and not wanting to delay the migration any longer, the team felt it was the best decision. This photo journey lets you go along on the final day. They will be supervised from a distance by pilot Brooke Pennypacker until they take off on their first unaided migration north this spring.

Project leader Joe Duff assures us that being trucked this short distance will not hamper their ability to navigate back to Wisconsin in the spring. The Class of 2015 is the final cohort to be taught their migration route by costumed pilots in tiny yellow airplanes.

The young cranes were banded with tracking transmitters and their lifetime color codes on Feb. 9.

February 14 was FREEDOM DAY, when their costumed caretakers pulled open the gates to the top-netted pen and released the birds to freedom.

The birds can now come and go from the enclosure, learning to forage for their own food as they become wild and free.

Spring 2017: Male 11-15, still with female 10-15, began migration from Wheeler NWR, AL and the two were seen in LaSalle Co, IL by the end of February.  On April 2, cranes 10-15 and 11-15 were seen in flight in flight in Green Lake County, WI. When the female was stolen away by another male, #11-15 returned to LaSalle County, Illinois. However, he was spotted back in Wisconsin on May 17, this time in the New London area.