June 18, 2003 Wisconsin Gets Ready for the Whooper Chicks After they leave Patuxent, the chicks will spend the next 3-4 months in "flight school" at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. Here they will grow bigger and stronger. They will grow their flight feathers and start to fly around the age of 60 days. They'll continue learning to follow behind their ultralight "parent." In early October, they must be ready to take off on their very first migration. Inside on of the enclosures. View outside the enclosure at Site 4. Photos WCEP. Bunker-like blind with view of training area for reporters and biologists The staff and volunteers at the refuge worked hard over the winter and spring to get ready for the chicks' arrival. -They improved the three training sites and nearby enclosures. -Top nets are in place over the enclosures. -Inside each enclosure, gates now separate the wet and dry areas. -Electric fencing has been re-installed and tested. -The ultralight aircraft are waiting inside the newly improved hangar. People in Wisconsin are proud of their role in helping to bring back whoopers to the East and Midwest. They are eager to welcome the 2003 chicks. Try This! Journaling Questions Why do you think that the support of volunteers, donors, conservation groups and private citizens are all so important to the success of the Whooping crane reintroduction project? Why is the electric fencing necessary? (See photos, audio clip, and questions at Wolves and Other Dangers.) Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2003-2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form