Halpata: Temporary Layover Site
The
crane-kids headed for Chass will stay first at
a temporary
layover site in Marion County, Florida.
It is in a safe nature preserve
called Halpata-Tastanaki
Preserve.
A team member will be there to make sure the cranes are safe and getting
enough food. Halpata was used for the first time in 2005. Starting in 2005 the team thought a different site for the new arrivals was needed. It would keep the chicks safe until enough time passed for all the "graduate" Whooping cranes to stop at their old Chass pen and find nobody home. Then the adult birds give up, get bored, and go away. With the 2007, 2008, and 2009 migrations being so late, the birds didn't stay at Halpata long. They continued on the next flyable day to their release pen at Chass. It's a different story in 2010, when they will fly their final 26 miles sometime after the New Year begins and everything at Chass is ready for them. Try This! Journal or Discussion Question
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