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November
23, 2004
Migration Day 45
Winds Calm, But Rains Heavy
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Photo
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The migration
remains grounded at stop #15 on Day 45 since leaving the Necedah NWR
in Wisconsin. No whoopers
are leaving Hiwassee State Wildlife Refuge in today's heavy rains.
A large and slow moving low pressure system is dumping rain on an area
stretching
from
Texas in
the
southwest
to southeast
Kentucky,
including
the entire
State of Tennessee. Operation
Migration's Heather Ray reminds us: "Last
year's ultralight-guided Whooping crane migration lasted 54 days. It required
a total of twenty stopovers,
including
the remote
winter pen located in the salt marshes of the Chassahowitzka NWR in Crystal
County, FL. If we could only get a 20-day stretch of suitable migration weather,
we'd be home a lot sooner."
Remember the migrating ultra-cranes that we
mentioned yesterday? From The State newspaper (Columbia, SC) now comes this
sad news:
"For the first time in 150 years, whooping cranes passed through South Carolina this week. Unfortunately, The state wasn't particularly welcoming. One of the five was killed by a predator, possibly a bobcat, near Cape Romain, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service....A lone bird made its way to McCormick County by Nov. 9 and most recently was tracked by transmitter in Colleton County. Four others showed up at Cape Romain a few days later. The three survivors of that group have drifted into coastal North Carolina, according to the partnership. The whooping crane was last seen in South Carolina in 1850. Anyone who spots one is asked to stay at least 600 feet away." See more below.
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Read the Press Release of Nov. 22 to find out the fate of one of the 2003 ultra-cranes reported in South Carolina. What is WCEP asking of the public ? Why should people stay 600 feet away? Do you think it is normal, or instead unusual, for these whooping cranes to be in the Carolinas on their way to Florida? (See map.) Explain your thinking.
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
Copyright
2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
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