When all birds are unloaded, the cartons are opened one by one. How strange to see the young birds with people who aren’t silent or hidden under white costumes! Joe Duff of Operation Migration explains: “So far, these birds have been reared by real Whooping crane parents. Their only experience with humans was when the vet checked them periodically or when handlers changed their water and added crane chow to their feeders. None of that was done in costume because most of the encounters were negative, which (we hope) should make them wary of people.”

Operation Migration Crane Cam