Flight school has its ups and downs, and target date for migration is now October 1! Tackle four fun questions in Crane Quiz #2, and view this week's slideshow: "Who Am I? Imprinting."

Today's Report Includes:

• Chick Chat: Ups and Downs

• Meet the Flock: Craniac Quiz #2

• Journal Question: Oldest or Youngest?

• Slideshow: "Who Am I? Imprinting"

"The last two days of training, we’ve managed to pull most, if not all the birds, off the runway on the first take off," came the good news from flight school in Wisconsin.

A few weeks ago, the team got five birds to consistently follow the trike, but now it's a different story. Was it the rain, fog, or wind that prevented training on 3 days this week? Some of our ace fliers are peeling off and landing with the sticks-in-the-mud that don't want to take off or stick with the plane, reports Geoff. Let's hope all 10 young colts get with the program, as the pilots are aiming for an October 1 departure!

In last week's quiz you learned that the age range is 16 days between the oldest and youngest chicks for 2011. How are they getting along together? In what ways are the chicks alike or different? Find out when you click on each photo to find the chick's bio page. Each chick's page has a new photo taken September 8:

• Meet the Hatch Year 2011 Chicks

Then find answers to this week's questions!

• Craniac Quiz #2
  

Click to enlarge. Images: Geoff Tarbox, Operation Migration

Journal Question:
Which photo shows the the youngest crane in the Class of 2011? Which shows the oldest? Tell what clues helped you decide your answer.

Teachers: Choose “Responding to Journal Questions” from our collection of Journey South journal pages.

Imprinting is the topic of this week's nonfiction photo story about this special group of young cranes. How do these chicks know they are Whooping cranes and not other kinds of birds? Find out how experts help these baby cranes imprint correctly on their species as they are being raised and trained.

View it as a Web slideshow or choose a matching booklet ready to print, fold, and take home to share.

• Slideshow (for web viewing)
• Booklet (for printing )

Weekly Summaries are emailed to registered participants on FRIDAYS: Sep 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Oct 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 11, 18—or until this year's newest "ultra-chicks" reach their winter home in Florida.

Pre-migration: Each Friday before migration, a brief e-mail notice provides updates, fun quiz questions, and the next slideshow/booklet.

During migration: When migration begins in October, new reports, maps, and fun facts are posted DAILY on the web. The Friday e-mails are quick summaries of the reports from that week. Stay with us for year 11 of this exciting conservation story!

Orientation & Welcome to New Participants

We'll be back with more news next Friday: September 16, 2011.