Depending on traffic, I have about a 40 minute commute from home to our Port
Perry office. After about 15 minutes at most, my drive becomes rural,
passing through farmland dotted with homes and the odd business site. It is
a pleasant if not idyllic drive, and with the speed limit dropping to 40mph
in places, I am able to take in the scenery.
Yesterday the scenery
included something I had never before seen in our area. As I rolled down
into a valley between two steep hills, two coyotes emerged from the trees
lining the road on my left. Tails streaming behind they raced across the
road 50 feet in front of me and disappeared into the underbrush on the other
side.
As I recovered from my surprize, the sighting brought to mind the only
other time I ever saw coyotes. That happened last year while on migration
and it was the subject of my 'Most Memorable Moment', a short piece each
team member was asked to write as part of the 2009 migration wrap-up for INformation
magazine. For those who don't receive our magazine, here is a reprint of
that piece.
My Most Memorable Moment On a migration of 89 days of which just 25 were ‘fly days’, one might
rightly reason there were days and more days that - shall we say – were less
than exciting. While because of their inevitability, ‘down days’ are borne
with some measure of equanimity, when the weather hits us with a lengthy
stretch of going-nowhere-days, anxiety and frustration mount.
Such was the case when for the third consecutive year we faced the reality
of the migration running over into the New Year. Although once or twice in
the past finishing in time to get home in time for Christmas was a bit of a
squeaker, that timing was the rule until the Marathon Migration of 2007.
On December 20th this past year as we contemplated a forecast of at least a
week of unfavourable flying weather, we knew a return to pre-Christmas
finishes was not in the cards. So it was that the next day the crew began
departing for their respective homes for the holidays with their families,
with three of us (Robert Doyle, Geoff Tarbox and I) staying behind to hold
down the fort.
What I didn’t know at the time was that staying behind to keep the CraneCam
operational would put me in line for a most unexpected experience – and
memorable moment.
The weatherman produced day after day of cold, wet, windy, mind-numbing,
misery-inducing weather. It wasn’t too many days before I would groan at the
mere thought of the four times a day ritual of layering up, sticking my feet
in icy, rubber boots, and, laptop in tow, trudging through the mud down to
the camera trailer where I’d sit, nose dripping, toes freezing, my mouse
manipulating fingers gradually stiffening from the cold, and question my
sanity at having volunteered. Until…..one trip to the CraneCam changed it
all.
That morning when tucking the truck out of view behind a forested hill, my
peripheral vision caught a blur of movement. As started my trek down the
hill to the camera, I peered through the early morning half light to see
what it was that had caught my eye. Holeee! Coyotes! Headed toward the pen!
They had seen me too, and for long moments, heads lowered and ears perked,
they stood stock-still staring me down. Frozen in place I gaped open-mouthed
while my brain raced. “Oh my gawd! Oh my gawd! What do I do? What do I do?”
Then my brain said, “Go get back in the truck, stupid.” Never knew my short,
fat legs could move so fast.
Secure in the cab, I watched the coyotes circle and sniff the air with one
eye, while with the other I cast about for potential weaponry should they
look like they were intent on having a Whooper for breakfast. It was quickly
apparent however, that short of running over and beaning them with my
laptop, the truck itself was my only weapon – and exposing the birds to it
was a huge no-no. “Okay,” I thought, “So now what?”
Long before I figured it out the coyotes trotted off in the other direction,
casting what I thought was looks of sheer distain over their shoulders. In
the aftermath of the heart palpitating encounter, I of course remembered the
hot wires around the pen, and half marveled, half chuckled at the
‘protective mother instinct’ the threat to the chicks had aroused.
While day in and day out I treasured and had toiled for these 20 chicks,
they had become, if only for a few minutes, as much mine to personally
protect as they ever would. That feeling of possessiveness went beyond the
norm. They weren’t WCEP’s chicks. They weren’t even ‘ours,’ as in OM’s
chicks. They were MY chicks. Scant seconds later I rightly returned their
ownership to all the world, but not before I indulged myself fully in that
memorable moment.
Indeed, these gorgeous youngsters not only belong to the world, but by the
time you are reading this they will be out on their own in it. And the world
better be careful - - woe betide the human that messes with my,
er, our kids, because I think I could be the mother from hell.
Date:
July 30,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
EASTERN
MIGRATORY POPULATION UPDATE
Location:
Main Office
The Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) numbered 97 Whooping Cranes at the
end of the July 24th reporting period. This number breaks down into 52
males, 45 females and 2 wild-hatched chicks.
EMP ‘Families’
Parents 12-02 & 19-04* along with chick W3-10 remain in the area of their
nesting marsh in Wood County.
Parents 13-04 & 9-03* with their chick W1-10 remain in the general wetland
area of their nest.
WISCONSIN
At the end of the report period (or as of last record)
86 whooping cranes plus 2 chicks were in Wisconsin.
Of Note
The Tracking Team reported that on July 8th, “D7-07 and D39-07* were
captured and removed from their location because of diazinon spraying in
their use area. They were held in the pen at Site 2 on the Necedah NWR until
re-release on their territory July 19. While in the pen D39-07* incurred a
minor wing injury of unknown cause, but a previously incurred leg injury was
much improved by the time of release. Inspection of wing feathers during a
health exam indicated that they had completed molting of primaries earlier
in the summer.”
The Tracking Team took advantage of the opportunity to replace the
transmitters on both cranes, and the functional time-limited PTT on 39-07*
was also replaced with new color bands.
LOCATED OUTSIDE WISCONSIN North Dakota
Ransom County
13-09, 19-09 (last reported May 25)
Indiana
Marshall County
27-07* (last reported ~July 14 -18)
No Recent Record
16-03NFT (last observed on NNWR May 6)
14-05 NFT (last observed on NNWR May 18)
13-07 (last observed on Meadow Valley Flowage May 22)
20-05*NFT (may have been the unidentified whooping crane reported in Jackson
County May 24)
6-05 (last detected on NNWR May 31)
5-05NFT & 15-04*NFT (last observed on NNWR June 16)
Long Term Missing (more than 90 days)
5-08, 12-08 - Columbia County, WI -Dec. 10, 2009
D36-08 - Lawrence County, TN - Dec. 11, 2009
D33-05* - Jackson County, IN - Mar. 6, 2010
27-09 - Waukesha County, WI - Apr. 10, 2010
D37-07 (last reported In Jackson County, MI April12)
OM joins all WCEP partners in thanking ICF Tracking Intern Matt Strausser
for his service. Matt completed his internship mid July. “He did an
excellent job since joining the Tracking Team last winter,” said Dr.
Richard Urbanek, “and the rest of us much enjoyed his insights gained
from his past and current work on endangered species. We wish him the best
as he moves on to a graduate program at Yale University.”
This update was compiled from data supplied by the WCEP Tracking Team of Dr.
Richard Urbanek, (USFWS) Eva Szyszkoski, Sara Zimorski, and Matt Strausser (ICF).
Date:
July 29, 2010 - Entry 2
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
COHORT ONE - VIDEO CLIP
Location:
Necedah, WI
Cohort One is up to its full compliment of eight birds now that #4-10 has been reunited with the group. Joe ventured out this morning, shortly after 5am to begin training this group, while Brooke
headed a bit further north to work with Cohort Two at the Canfield pensite.
Trish and Geoff opened the gates and all eight birds charged out, eager
to train with the aircraft. Of course since #4 just arrived yesterday, she
hasn't yet seen the large wing so was a bit leery at first but Joe said it
didn't take her long to accept it as just another appendage of the
ultralight and she charged down the runway with her flock mates, getting
airborne for the first time.
Here's a brief video clip that Joe managed to capture during one
high-speed taxi run.
Date:
July 29,
2010
Reporter:
Geoff Tarbox
Subject:
TOGETHER
AGAIN
Location:
Necedah, WI
I was conscious enough yesterday morning to register the sound of pouring
rain and realize that I might as just well go back to my dreams of fighting
off the zombie apocalypse. Sure the morning was a washout, but I knew it was
going to be a monumental day nonetheless.
It was the day when my pointed
optimism was going to pay off and our flock was finally going to be whole.
No leg problems, no blood cooties, were going to stop 04-10 and 11-10 from
hitching a ride to Necedah to meet up with their brothers and sisters, big
and small. Brooke had spent untold hours making the journey from Necedah, to
the Indiana halfway point (where the chicks changed hands from Patuxent to
ours) and back again.
The birds arrived around daybreak while I was still shooting zombies with
shotguns in my semi-conscious mind. 4-10 reunited with her old pals at the
North site while 11-10 met up with his buddies at the perennially soggy
Canfield site. It wasn’t until 9:30 that Robert asked me to personally check
in on them to see how they were taking to their new accommodations.
The North site was my first stop. I crawled into the blind and watched
the birds do their thing from behind heavily tinted glass. 04-10 was still
adjusting to the move, so we had her cornered off away from the rest of the
flock behind some partition fencing. Even though this means she's got half
the dry pen to herself she can’t get into wet pen, nor can she really mingle
with her old buddies. But we need to be able to get to her pronto if she has
any complications, and since she’s been away for so long, there’s no telling
how she'd fit in the pecking order here at Necedah - if she fit in at all.
So we have to keep her separated, at least for one day, so we can know for
sure her arrival isn’t going to turn things upside down.
She spent most of her time pacing behind the fence, looking for any place
to slip through as the fence silently mocked her, as it always does in these
situations. The rest of the flock paid her no mind, and if anything, seemed
more interested in the partition fence than the bird it was imprisoning. It
was disheartening to see her in such a funk even though I knew it was for
her own good. On the bright side she wasn’t so worked up that she was
forgetting to eat, nor was she open mouth breathing. After ten minutes of
watching 04-10 in action, I made for the Canfield site.
I had hoped the morning's storm hadn’t again made the pensite the
unofficial eighth sea. Call me crazy, but I don’t think leading the chicks
down south using Sea Doos instead of ultralights is going to catch on.
Thankfully, when I arrived at the pensite I did not have to raise my puppet
to the sky to part a flooded runway as though it was the Red Sea.
When I saw 11-10 from the blind he was busy taking in the sights on his
side of the pen, munching on the feeder, and playing in the waterpan. As
with 04-10, there were some worries that 11-10 was going to have to
re-establish his niche in the pecking order after being away for so long.
And since he had been the resident bully back in Patuxent, to the point
where he had to be trained and socialized separately, some were worried he
would go back pecking birds on the head, and giving them wedgies and pink
bellies. But thankfully, 11-10 wasn’t interested in going back to his old
habits and just went about his own business, as did the rest of the chicks.
I checked the birds again around 3:30 to make sure they were still
enjoying their new home. 04-10 seemed to be in a calmer mood, as I found her
laying down (by the wet pen, naturally) preening her feathers. None of the
other birds were inclined to jab at her through the fence, nor was she, but
I didn’t think she would. She was never the terror that 11-10 was.
Speaking of 11-10, he wasn’t quite as laid back as he was in the morning.
I could hear him peeping, as he paced the fence near where the rest of
Cohort 2 was hanging out. My guess was that he was starting to miss his old
pals. Either that, 15-10 made the mistake of counting his lunch money in
front of him again. But that wasn't likely the case, as neither bird on
either side took any shots at each other through the fence. Not even 10-10,
who squared off with 11-10 at Patuxent more than anyone. Since he was still
eating and he wasn’t open mouth breathing, I saw no cause for alarm.
However, Cohort 2 was too busy battling their own fence to really care
about what was bugging 11-10. The nefarious wetpen fence had reappeared and
cut off their route the marshy goodness that they should’ve been sick of
after having their pen flooded twice already. 10-10 and 16-10 took frontline
positions next to the wetpen gate, while 17-10 covered their flanks. 15-10
was resupplying at the feeders, preparing himself for the long bitter
struggle that lay ahead. They tried everything from laying down next to the
fence, to staring at it, to really really wishing it’d go away. But the
battle waged on, even after I left. They just wished whoever was peeping
would shut up already.
Yes, at long last the whole flock’s finally made it to Necedah. It was a
day I’d been on pins and needles for as long as I can remember. And I know
Cohort 1 still has a place in their hearts for the always pretty 04-10. And
I know 11-10 isn’t going to feel the urge to hang 11-10 from the topnet by
his underwear. The family’s together again.
Now if you excuse me, I have to muster the remaining Autobot forces to
battle against the evil Decepticons that have taken over the home planet of
all Transformers. Granted, I spent all of this week helping the Decepticons
conquer and corrupt it, but there’s no need to point fingers or anything.
Top Left: Cohort 2 at the Canfield pensite.
Top Right: 17-10 is in the foreground at the waterpan while 11-10
naps in the fenced off area of the pen.
Bottom Left: 17-10 and 11-10 spend some time getting
re-acquainted through the protective fencing.
Photos by Joe Duff
Date:
July 28,
2010 - Entry 2
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
TWO ADDED
TO CLASS OF 2010
Location:
Main Office
4-10
and 11-10's almost 1,000 mile road trip from Laurel, MD to Necedah, WI ended
today when they arrived at the refuge around 6:30am. Both have been
ensconced in the same pen as their Cohort mates - #4 with Cohort 1 and #11
with Cohort 2, but both fencing separates them from the other birds until
the crew can be sure they will all 'play nice' together.
The photo to the
right was snapped by Joe Duff with his phone at the North site after 4-10
was released onto the runway in front of the pen.
Date:
July 28,
2010 - Entry 1
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
COHORT 2
TRAINING
Location:
Main Office
The cyber gods smiled on us and allowed the crew to hold a signal long
enough to send us some photos taken during yesterday's taxi training session
with Cohort 2 at the Canfield site.
The costumes in the photo disguise pilot Joe Duff on
the left and handler Geoff Tarbox on the right. They keep an eye on
the four Cohort 2 chicks as they enjoy some 'free time' after their
morning taxi training session.
As the photo illustrates, there is
no evidence in this shot of the grassy strip runway of the flooding
as a result of the recent heavy rains at Necedah. The dry pen is
back to being dry. The water level in the wet pen now fluctuates
within normal range.
That is 17-10 you see in the foreground. To
the right in the middle background, the white bird making an
appearance is none other than 9-05 who was also a frequent (and
disruptive) visitor to the the pensite in 2009.
Last September when all of the Class of 2009
were socializing together he interfered once too often. Some of the
chicks, perhaps emboldened by their numbers, put 09-5 on notice with
displays of aggression.
Date:
July 27,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
CHICKS
HEADING WEST / TAXI TRAINING
Location:
Main Office
CHICKS HEADING WEST
The word is that the two chicks, which for health reasons were left behind
when their respective cohorts were shipped, will be travelling today.
4-10
was held back when its seven Cohort 1 classmates made the trip from
Patuxent's Wildlife Research Center to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
in Wisconsin on June 30th. 11-10 missed the Windway Capital flight with its
four fellow Cohort 2 chicks when they were shipped on July 9th.
Both chicks have now been cleared to travel by the Vet Team. They will be
departing Laurel, MD in the care of Patuxent crew around noon today and met
by Brooke at the halfway point (likely somewhere in Indiana) for a hand off
which should take place around 10:00pm tonight. That should put Brooke and
his two passengers back in Necedah around 5:00am Wednesday morning.
The chicks will be housed with their respective Cohorts, but separated at
first until they have time to socialize/reintroduce themselves.
TAXI TRAINING
The weather is cooperating this morning and as I type this, Brooke is
training with Cohort 1 at the North site. The water level is dropping at the
Canfield site allowing the trike to land, so Joe will be training there with
the youngest chicks - those in Cohort 2. Intern Trish Gallagher is armed
with a camera today, so if a strong enough signal can be maintained long
enough to transmit photos, we could have visuals to post here tomorrow.
For some reason cell and internet signals have been unusually unreliable
this season - so unreliable/intermittent in fact, that it is rare that we
can complete even a short conversation before the call is dropped. Lately
our conversations consist of a lot of repetitions of "ARE YOU STILL THERE?"
and, "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!?!?"
Date:
July 26,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
CLASS OF
2010 COULD GROW
Location:
Main Office
Cohort 1, which was shipped from Laurel, MD’s Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge on June 30th, should have
consisted of eight young Whooping cranes. Instead only seven made it onto
the Windway Capital flight. 4-10 was held back due to leg problems.
Subsequent to its pre-departure health check, 4-10 was observed limping and
it was decided not to chance exacerbating the problem by crating and
shipping.
Similarly, 11-10 was held back when its Cohort 2 classmates made the same
journey west on July 9th. 11-10 had developed some respiratory problems, and
as a result, what the future held for this chick was uncertain.
Thanks to the excellent care and attention of the Crane Ecology Crew at
Patuxent, it appears that both these chicks may be joining the rest of the
Class of 2010 in Necedah very soon. They have been cleared for travel by the
Vet Team, and a plan is being developed to transport them by road. It is
likely that a vehicle from Patuxent will be met half way by a vehicle from
Necedah for the hand off of the two crated cranes.
While perhaps not as ideal as a zippy flight in Windway’s jet, it should not
be a problem for the birds. OM’s resident crane expert, Walter Sturgeon,
raises several species of cranes and provides them to a variety of
facilities around the country. When they have to be transported, they make
the journey via Walter’s van, arriving none the worse for wear.
Not to 'count our cranes' before they leave and arrive safely,
but, the happy prospect of returning the number of young Whoopers in the
Class of 2010 to 13 is difficult to not celebrate.
We will update you on
what is happening with 4-10 and 11-10 as events unfold. Fingers crossed.
Date:
July 25,
2010
Reporter:
Trish Gallagher
Subject:
Look Mom,
We’re Flying!
Location:
Necedah, WI
Friday morning Brooke and I were training together at the North site. We
hadn’t trained Thursday, so the chicks were eager for some action. They
exploded out of the pen, and even 9-10, who is a lollygagger most days, was
standing there at the back of the pack and didn’t have to be coaxed out of
the wet pen.
Almost immediately, three of the chicks started running down the runway
flapping their wings and then they were off the ground, flying a good
distance down the runway. As I stepped back in the pen and pulled the door
closed the other four ran after them, flapping. I hesitated for a moment,
watching them through a crack in the door, and then reluctantly closed the
door all the way.
I usually watch the training through peepholes in the fence in case the
pilot needs assistance. On this particular morning, however, I was sweeping
up food under the feeders while Brooke trained. I heard a noise and looked
up to see a wondrous sight – three chicks were flying over me. But wait,
they were over the dry pen and then the wet pen, and heading straight for
the marsh! They looked like novice bike riders who can’t steer very well,
and end up careening into the lamppost.
I imagined they were having a moment of panic, thinking, “Good grief,
where am I going to land? I thought there was open water there, but there’s
something on top of it! I’m going to crash!” They landed a few seconds later
in the marsh near the back of the pen, none the worse for wear from my
imaginings. And while they weren’t out too far into the marsh, it was far
enough that I had a moment of worry about luring them back out of that nice
wetland and into their boring pen.
I stepped outside the pen and walked over towards the edge of the runway
where the tall grass begins. I could see three chicks out there among the
tall grass, just standing there, perhaps not quite sure how they got there
or what they should do next. They were just about the same height as the
grass and blended in nicely, but since I knew what I was looking for, I
could spot them.
As Brooke taxied over, I looked behind him for the other four birds, but
there were only the two youngsters of the cohort, 8-10 and 9-10,
walking calmly along behind the trike. I didn’t know where the other two
were, but I figured three in sight was better than two out of sight, so I
switched my focus back to the three in the grass. I flapped my arms a little
and held up my puppet while I waited for Brooke. I didn’t want them to get
any ideas about heading farther into the marsh.
Brooke came up and whispered that he knew four were in the marsh and did
I see where the fifth went down. He went back to the trike for his puppet
and vocalizer and I turned back to the marsh. As I looked closely, I could
now see another tawny head blending in with the grass. I turned on my
vocalizer and started flapping in my arms in earnest, with the intent of
luring the chicks back to the runway. I didn’t want to go in to get them
because I didn’t want them to head farther into the marsh.
They stood there for a few minutes, but the lure of the costume and the
vocalizer were too great. The first to join me on the runway was my pal
1-10, who is usually in the dry pen in the morning to greet me. After giving
him a silent look of praise, I looked back in the grass and still saw four
heads, so I was relieved to have spotted the last wayward chick. Brooke
joined me with his puppet and vocalizer and we patiently lured them back
onto the runway, one by one.
Luckily, it was a minor misadventure for the kids. And oh, the sight of
my babies flying overhead! Look Mom, we’re flying! Yes, my darlings, and you
look beautiful.
Date:
July 24,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
CHICK
PATROL
Location:
Main Office
As
faithful Field Journal readers will know, just two of the season’s seven
wild-hatched chicks still survive. While that number is not what we
were wishing for, the positive outcome of the season remains the record
nesting successes.
The surviving chicks are Wild1-10, the first hatched of
the season, and W3-10. The wild chicks’ parents are 9-03* & 3-04 and 19-04*
& 12-02 respectively. 3-10 came from an egg supplied by the Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center which was substituted for the parents’ two
infertile eggs.
Subsequent to the end of the nesting season during which OM’s pilots
flew multiple aerial nest surveys daily, the flights were switched to chick
monitoring. The multiple flights per day are now reduced to once daily –
weather permitting of course.
On one such chick patrol flight (this past Wednesday), flying backseat
with pilot Joe Duff was spotter Heather Ray. Heather was able to snap off a
photo of Wild 01-10 with its parents. In the photo above, the adult nearest
the chick is the female, 9-03* with the male, 3-04, seen on the
right. Even from a distance it is evident how much the chick has grown.
Date:
July 23,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
DON'T
REPEAT MISTAKES SAYS ABC
Location:
Main Office
A report entitled, "Gulf Oil Spill: Field Survey Report and
Recommendations," was released by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) July
19. Announcing the report’s release, ABC said it showed that, “some of BP’s
oil spill cleanup efforts are actually causing harm to birds and their
habitats rather than helping them.”
The report was “based on a
just-completed week-long field assessment by ABC staff, who observed oil
impacts and cleaning operations from Louisiana through Mississippi to
Dauphin Island, Alabama. As part of the overview, ABC staff toured affected
areas by boat with local and federal officials and charter boat captains.
With Coast Guard officials, they also undertook an aerial over-flight of the
spill area and points northwest of that location.
Restoration needs to start as soon as major coastal oiling has been
effectively addressed. The Gulf doesn’t have the decades it took to resolve
the legal wrangling that followed the Exxon Valdez spill. The hydrology of
the Mississippi Delta and the surrounding area is already facing dire
threats from climate change, erosion, and hurricanes. Let’s not repeat the
same mistakes we made in Alaska twenty years ago,” said ABC Vice President
and report author Mike Parr.
When you spend your life aboard the “Crane Train,” you'd better
be prepared to hit the ground running at each stop…or in the case of Necedah lately,
swimming.
I arrived in Necedah last Tuesday having been followed for two
days by our Sierra trailer. If we could just get the birds to follow as well
as the Sierra does, we’d have it made. Trish arrived later that night
driving my car which she refers to as a “toaster oven” due to its lack of
air conditioning. “Hey, twenty years ago when that car was new air
conditioning hadn’t been invented yet!” I shrugged as she blew past me on
her way to find a scale to see how much weight she’d lost on the trip.
It was my ninth year driving into Necedah and for the ninth straight year
the local high school band did not line the street to play my favorite song
welcoming me back.
The next day, this being Indian country, somebody inadvertently did a
rain dance followed by a tornado dance so while I was at the local Wal-Mart
filling out an application for the Greeter’s Position, the sky turned black
and began dropping a curtain of solid water as the tornado warning sirens
chorused in the distance.
I stuffed the half completed application into my pocket and hurried back
to the refuge where I found half the camp running for the safety of the
headquarters basement while the rest headed for the annex bathrooms. I chose
the latter because I’m getting older and tornado warnings can last a long
time, and well, you know.... But even a tornadic cloud comes standard with a
silver lining, which is in this case the fact that a bathroom is a great
place for a reunion and an opportunity to catch up on things with folks you
haven’t seen for a year.
Then Bev called from her DNR flight base in Eau Clare to say weather
radar was showing a short break in the storm coming and that it might be a
good opportunity to go out and check the birds. Robert and I stripped
ourselves of everything metallic, which in my case included all the quarters
I’d pulled out of payphone coin returns for the last month, and we headed
out to the Canfield site while Trish and Geoff left for the North site.
Before they left, Trish asked Geoff to wear his hat with the big shiny metal
hat band. Since he’s taller than she is, as is everyone else on the planet,
she felt comfortably immune to a lightning strike.
The birds were fine. The chicks at Canfield were in the bathroom, and the
ones at the North site were in the basement.
The
next day we trained the chicks at the Canfield site with the ground trike
and they did great. The huge military tent/ refuge blind overlooking the
site did not do as well having been blown down and shredded during the
storm. But the refuge staff located a new one, and were soon performing an
'out with the old -in with the new' dance while we stood in the pen calming
the chicks.
It
was about then that the water began to rise, and rise, and rise...until the
pen and 80% of the runway were under water. In the midst of this, my cell
phone began ringing. It was Noah asking me what time he could sail his ark
in and pick up the chicks. Funny guy, that Noah. A real Jerk! Robert and
transformed our costumes into genuine deep sea diving apparel and
re-configured the hot wire around the pen before leaving for the night.
In the morning, after a futile attempt to trade in our yellow trike for a
yellow submarine, we walked the birds through the runway/lake and up onto
the only remaining dry spot in the area to allow them to lie down and rest.
At
first they jumped around excitedly in their new found freedom, so Robert and
I knelt down and soon the birds, except the ever energetic #10, dropped down
next to us, folded their heads back into their wings. Before long their
bodies were heaving in deep regular breaths as they slept the sleep of the
dead. Even whooper chicks sleep better at the beach.
Then two adults suddenly appeared. One of them, instantly recognizing the
genuine appeal of beach life, flopped down next to the chicks and joined
them in slumber while the other stood guard. Robert, always one to promote
calm and security, walked over to the pen and put up a 'Lifeguard On Duty'
sign. “Just in case they want to go swimming,” he said.
They say that, "Life is no day at the beach,” but every once in a while
in Crane Land, it is. And after a couple of hours it was time to shake the
sand out of the blankets, take down the umbrella, find out what Grandpa did
with his metal detector, put all the empty cans and bottles in the cooler,
and head for the car…...I mean the pen.
It would be three days before the water dropped to any appreciable
degree, so there were more beach days to come. We even took the brood call
off our MP3 players and replaced it with some old Beach Boys tunes, and
checked to see if we had any crane costumes that would fit Frankie Avalon
and Annette Funicello.
Last night , as I left the chicks to exit the pen door at the Canfield
pensite I could swear I heard #15 call to me, “Surfs Up, Moon Daddy!’ I
turned and grinned. “Hang ten…errr I mean six, #15.”
Date:
July 21,
2010
Reporter:
Trish Gallagher
Subject:
The Great Flood
Location:
Necedah, WI
Last Wednesday, around 5:00 in the evening, it got so dark that I thought I
must have mistaken the time because it looked like nightfall. I was supposed
to do roost check, so I jumped up to get out there quickly! But then I heard
the news – a tornado had touched down west of here and was heading down
Highway 21 toward Necedah.
Geoff and I hunkered down in the annex, which
is the building adjacent to our campers with some offices and the restrooms.
We were careful to collect our valuables out of our trailers just in case a
tornado materialized and flung our campers about.
There was lots of tension and drama as we listened to the weather radio, but
the tornado veered north, so we were lucky to just get a severe
thunderstorm.
We got out to do roost check around 7:30, during a lull in the storm, and
then it continued to rain all night. We heard that the tornado hit north of
us in Wood County, and that the storm dropped 7 or 8 inches of rain up
there.
Thursday morning dawned clear and bright and beautiful. When we got out
to the Canfield site where the babies are, there was some water on the
runway and the dry pen was a little wet, but the chicks were none the worse
for wear. The day before the wet pen had been nearly dry, but there was
plenty of water in it Thursday morning and we joked about too much of a good
thing. Little did we know…
All the rain that fell up in Wood County had to go somewhere, and Necedah
happens to be downstream from there. When we arrived Thursday morning, we
didn’t know it, but the water was just beginning to rise. By early
afternoon, the dry pen was entirely under water, as was a large stretch of
the runway. It was over the top of my boots – I measured and they stand 14
inches above the floor. At the height of the flood I would guess the water
on the runway was at least another inch or two above the top of my boots.
The flood would not have been a huge problem if the chicks were older,
because after a time, they roost standing up. But these chicks are still
young enough that they roost on the ground. The water looked like it had
stopped rising by nightfall, so it was decided that the chicks could stay in
the pen overnight while we figured out what to do. Brooke and Patuxent's
Robert Doyle lifted the electric fence wire so it was out of the water and
could be turned on and we left them in the pen and retired with some
anxiety, but confident that all would be well by morning.
Friday
morning, Robert and Brooke took the chicks out, not for training, not for a
swim, but for a nap on the dry part of the runway. According to their
report, 15, 16, and 17 got to dry land, heaved a sigh of relief, and conked
out. #10 is a little older, and she foraged around, apparently not tired
enough for a nap.
Geoff and I took them out for a nap that afternoon, and it was a repeat
of the morning. #10 wandered off into the marsh and foraged while 15, 16,
and 17 slept. After about an hour, 10 finally conked out and she was down
for the count like the others. Even the adults at the Canfield site decided
to join the slumber party, so everyone except the interns had a good rest.
We had the rare privilege of sitting with the babies and adults, watching
them sleep, then waking up to preen, and then dozing off again. Just before
sunset, we guided them back to the pen for the night.
Saturday was similar to Friday – morning and evening naps for all. The
chicks were all happy to come out of the wet pen and rest on dry land, even
10, who gave up the pretense of being too old for a nap. After an hour or so
of rest, they would get up and start wandering around, occasionally giving
the adults an exploratory peck, and then sit down again.
The water started receding Saturday and we were hopeful that there would
be a “dry” pen again by nightfall, but no such luck.
The pattern continued until finally, Sunday night, a few tussocks of
grass emerged and it looked like we would have “dry” land by morning. And
indeed, when Geoff and I got to the pen Monday morning, 10 and 17 were
roosting on the ground. When they stood up, their fronts were all wet, but
they looked rested in spite of their dampness.
After training, Geoff and I took 15 and 16 out for one last nap. The
adult and chicks and Geoff and I spent one last quiet hour together. I think
we were all relieved to see land, except maybe the adult, who seemed to
enjoy hosting the slumber parties.
Photo to the right shows adult 09-05 and 10-10 hock sitting beside one
another.
Photos by Trish Gallagher
Date:
July 20, 2010
Reporter:
Joe Duff
Subject:
JUST TOO CUTE
Location:
Necedah NWR
Maybe if we were working with snails or trying to reintroduce an endangered cactus it would be easier to maintain the proper scientific aloofness. If it were anything less regal than a Whooping crane, it would be simpler to stay emotionally detached. As it is, we use numbers instead of names and minimize the amount of time we spend with them but it is still hard to remain impartial. We keep our distance so they can be wild creatures but it is not easy.
When they get older and after they have been on their own for a while, they tend to be a little more aggressive. Each encounter starts with a little posturing. But when they are young and covered in fluff, more legs and feet than body, they are just too hard to resist. When they run behind you in unquestioning loyalty with wing outstretched for a purpose they have yet to comprehend, they are just too damned cute.
Necedah sits roughly in the center of an ancient 1800 square miles glacial lakebed. The elevation from one end to the other is only a few feet so when 8 inches of rain fell on the area last week it left a lot of water that is slow to run off. The refuge hydrologist John Olsen has been manipulating water structures to deal with the excess but he can’t let too much go or he risks flooding downstream.
By noon the next day, even the dry pen at the Canfield site was flooded. It kept rising until the runway was also underwater. The chicks of course, loved it. They probed and poked and kept themselves cool in the 90 degree temperatures, but young birds like these need to rest once in a while. Unlike adults, they can’t stand all day and all night so we started letting them out. We lead them to high ground where they immediately drop down to hock sit.
The joint that is half way up a bird’s leg is often mistaken for a knee that works backwards. In fact, it’s their ankle and it works the same direction ours does. Birds walk on their toes and all the bones that form our feet are fused together in birds to form what many mistake for the shin. A bird’s real knee is just hidden by the feathers and their hips are even higher up. When wading birds get tired and are secure enough with their surroundings, they will often hock sit. They look like disproportioned penguins with long necks and huge feet.
Just as everyone was getting comfortable, number 9-05 walked onto the runway from his normal foraging spot just behind the pen. No one objected so he sat down beside us to take in the afternoon sun.
So there we were, Geoff Tarbox and me, sitting is the short grass surrounded by
four sleepy chicks and a relaxed 5 year old adult. Puffy clouds were drifting by, the buttercups were poking through and a thick layer of cute was starting to form. It reminded me of one of those happy Beatles song from the 60’s like Strawberry Fields Forever.
After an hour and a half, the chicks began to stretch. Number 9-05 wasn’t ready for it to end and he issued a throaty little call to the first chick that wandered away. It was more of a rattle than the brood call we use. Who knows what was said but the chick didn’t go any farther. Eventually our lazy afternoon in the sun ended and we put the rested chicks back into their pen.
Yesterday morning we introduced them to the wing for the first time and 9-05 was eager to help. He dutifully followed the trike up and down the runway and I even noticed that when one of the chicks stopped to poke in the grass, he came up behind it and gave a gentle poke of his own to get it back on track.
(Be sure to click the thumbnails to view full-sized images)
Date:
July 19,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
SUMMER
FIELD REPORT
Location:
Main Office
Word from the field out of Necedah has been scarce lately, something that
hopefully will change this week.
The last news we've received came from
Joe Duff, who recently arrived on site to relieve Richard van Heuvelen from
his scheduled weeks of duty. Joe texted to say that he had trained with both
Cohorts 1 and 2 on Saturday, but that the session had to be cut short when
storms with lightning moved into the area.
His aerial vantage point did give him a glimpse of one of the wild
chicks, but with darkening skies he wasn't able to take a photograph.
With the 'chick patrol' flights added to normal duties this season, it is
even busier than usual at Necedah. We know you are all hungry for news about
the Class of 2010 - as are we. Please bear with us. We hope to have more
reports this week.
Date:
July 18, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
C'MON TO
NECEDAH!
Location:
Main Office
Each year the entire OM Team looks forward to the third Saturday in
September and 2010 is no exception. That day is always the first date on the
‘Whooping crane calendar’ that gives us a chance to meet hundreds of
Craniacs and OM supporters face-to-face.
The event that gives us that
opportunity every year is the
Necedah Lions Club
Whooping Crane Festival. (Use this link to see complete information and
the festival schedule.)
This September the third Saturday falls on the 18th, and it marks the
tenth year the Necedah Lions Club have hosted the ever popular event. Held
at the Town of Necedah Fairgrounds, the festival that we affectionately
call, “CraneFest”, continually attracts bigger and bigger crowds. Visitors
come from all over the U.S. and each year area accommodations are booked up
earlier and earlier. We would not be surprised if a count proved that the
population of Necedah doubled on that September weekend.
In addition to an abundance of exhibitors’ booths to visit, attendees can
sit in on a variety of bird and wildlife seminars put on by expert
presenters. Arts and craft displays dot the grounds as do many booths
offering most everything you’d expect to see at a country fair. There are
activities for youngsters, and opportunities to win special items via
raffles and silent auctions.
As always, Operation Migration will have a booth at CraneFest. Outfitted
with our photo backdrop, and fronted by tables laden with OM branded gear
for sale, our booth is manned by OM crew, members of our Board of Directors,
and other volunteers - and all are hoping you will stop by and say hello.
Folks can also get an up close look one of our ultralight aircraft that will
share our booth space.
We encourage you to make plans to attend, if you haven’t already. Join us
early, early morning on the Observation Tower at the Necedah National
Wildlife Refuge to watch flight training of the Class of 2010 and then head
to the Fairgrounds for the Lions’ All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast.
The exhibits open at 9:00am and the seminars start then too. Catch one of
the special buses for a tour of the refuge or join the guided walk. And you
can polish off your day of fun with even more fun. The Lions Club serves a
BBQ chicken dinner which you can enjoy while listening to live music (or
even kick up your heels if the spirit moves you).
You can’t beat a great day in the outdoors, an opportunity to meet lots
of other Craniacs, and hopefully see some Whooping cranes – all wrapped up
in warm Wisconsin hospitality! See YOU there?
Date:
July 17,
2010
Reporter:
Joe Duff
Subject:
CALLING
ALL PILOTS....
Location:
Necedah, WI
Just when you think it is all going well, nature has a habit of pulling the
rug out from under you.
Last year at this time we had 23 birds in our
flock. All three pen sites at Necedah were full, and everyone was working at
top speed. Every time you took off it was like a big party with white and
fawn feathers everywhere. This year we are down to only 11 birds, and rather
than being excited about finally adding to the wild flock and growing the
eastern population, we are hoping instead to hold our own against the
natural attrition.
There are many reasons for the low numbers this year. The propagation
centers like U.S.G.S. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the
International Crane Foundation (ICF) maintain large captive flocks, but only
so many eggs are produced every season and there is only so much the staff
can do to promote Whooping crane passion. Thereafter they try the less
romantic methods like artificial insemination. Additionally, there are all
the ailments and afflictions that complicate the early development of the
Whooping crane chicks. And occasionally a few are held back to ensure that
important genetic lines are protected.
During all of this, the flock managers and the chair of the Whooping
Crane Recovery Team must tackle the problem that we have been told all of
our lives to avoid -- counting our chicks before they hatch.
Because breeding has been a problem at the Necedah National Wildlife
Refuge, (NNWR) at least until this year, many members of the Recovery Team
are reluctant to keep putting birds into that ecosystem. There are strong
arguments on both sides of that debate, but in the interim the State of
Louisiana has expressed interest in having Whooping cranes back in their
wetlands after a 70 year absence. This provides an opportunity to hedge the
bet, (is that a real term??) so a small resident population will be started
there early next year to test the environment.
For the last five years, Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) has
been testing the Direct Autumn Release (DAR) method. It was designed to
augment the population once we reach our magic numbers and the Eastern
Migratory Population became self-sustaining. In years of low production, or
if some genetically important birds need to be added, the DAR method would
be ideal for boosting the flock a little whenever it was needed. Over the
years the program has been struggling with small sample sizes. Every
reintroduction scientist will tell you that it is all about numbers so this
year the DAR project has been assigned a full cohort of birds to finally
test the program's viability. Luckily, with the 11 chicks assigned to the
Ultralight method and the 11 currently in the DAR cohort we still have a
reasonable number to add to the eastern population.
Originally, we had 14 birds that we were training at Patuxent, but two
were held back at the last minute for health reason. One had a high white
blood cell count and the other a respiratory issue. Everyone is working hard
for these two birds, hoping they will recover, but in the interim, 04-10 and
14-10 have missed the last flight to Necedah.
Each season, Windway Capital from Sheboygan, WI donates the use of one of
their corporate aircraft to deliver our birds from Maryland to Wisconsin. So
far they have made 28 trips back and forth in either their Cessna Citation,
which is a very fast corporate jet, or their ten passenger turboprop Cessna
Caravan. These are not little side trip for them when they happen to be in
the Washington area. They are full, dedicated round trips with an overnight
stay in Baltimore so the birds can be moved in the cool morning air. We
cannot tell you how grateful we are to Windway Capital and their team.
After that kind of generosity, we can’t ask them to be on standby in case
one or two of these birds recovers. Besides both of the Windway aircraft a
booked solid for the rest of the summer.
We are not sure if either of these birds will recover or, if they will be
too old by that time to transport and risk leg injury. They may even be
reassigned to the Louisiana project, but just in case we thought we would
ask you for help.
If any of the many pilots out there who follow this project might be in
Maryland in the next week or so, and might be heading in the direction of
Necedah, WI, and might have room for a crate or two, perhaps you would give
us a call. Who knows, it may work out, and you could be part of the team to
save Whooping cranes.
If you are a pilot and can help us and two Whooping cranes out, you
can reach us by calling us toll free at 1-800-675-2618. We
would be eternally grateful.
Date:
July 16,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
HEROES
STAND THE TEST OF TIME
Location:
Main Office
Growing up in rural northern Ontario, my early years were blessed with
unbounded enjoyment of nature and the outdoors. A single strand of electric
wire kept the neighbor's cows out of our backyard, and a giant idle grain
hoist standing in a nearby hay field was the perfect jungle gym for me and
my friends.
Early spring and fall were exciting times. Our Mom’s would let
us pack picnic lunches, (oh how I loved those bologna and ketchup
sandwiches) and see us off on a trek through the fields to a not so distant
woodland. There, we would spend the day as adventurers extraordinaire, the
Daniel Boones and Davey Crocketts of our time. Much of what I learned during
our forays into what we thought of as wilderness, came from my friend,
Cheryl. A full-blooded Algonquin Indian, she knew more about the flora and
fauna we encountered than the rest of us put together. And she imbued us all
with a respect for nature that seemed her natural heritage.
So it was, that even at our tender age we had an appreciation for the
wild violets, crocuses, daffodils, trilliums, jack-in-the-pulpits and pussy
willows that abounded there. When I think of it now, I marvel at how long an
energetic bunch of kids could sit soundlessly and perfectly still; long
enough for squirrels, chipmunks and birds to accept us and venture close by.
We weren't allowed to pick any flowers, and each departure began with a
lecture about how our future fun in the woods depended on our leaving no
trace of our visit. My Mom would say, "Remember, don't make Mother Nature
angry. She should never be able to tell you were there." (Unlike the pretty,
cheery version portrayed in today's TV commercials, I always pictured Mother
Nature as a wizened and scary ogre; a bent and gnarled old hag in drab rags,
sprouting leaves and trailing moss.) Perhaps not the best psychological
approach or one that would work today. But back then it did its job. We left
our 'playhouse' as we found it, and the only souvenirs our forays produced
came a couple of weeks later when the grainy black and white photos we took
with an old box Brownie camera came back from the drugstore. (Oh my, a
Brownie camera - how's that for dating one's self!)
Perhaps it was those special experiences combined with my inquisitive
nature that first attracted me to Dr. David Suzuki. For years it was a toss
up. I couldn’t decide if I was going to marry him when I grew up, or my fun
cousin Don, or Myles, my parents’ exceedingly handsome insurance agent .
David Suzuki’s TV show, “The Nature of Things” topped my favorites list. He
became my hero and, in later years my inspiration and motivation to
participate, at least in some small way, in caring about and for the earth
and its creatures.
By the 1960’s, the work of primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall also became a
fascination. I read more, learned more, and as I came to understand her
philosophies, had to nudge Dr. Suzuki over a bit so there was room for Dr.
Jane on my personal heroes pedestal. High on the list of things I owe to
Whooping cranes is the opportunity they gave me to meet Dr. Goodall in
person when she visited us in 2006. Today, when worry or despair about
Whooping cranes or our project creeps in, I just have to conjure up Jane’s
face and words. She is hope for our planet personified.
While I haven’t always agreed with all of Dr. Suzuki’s positions,
inevitably he raises awareness and more importantly provokes thought. All
this is leading up to telling you about an article I read recently that
talked about learning from nature. The closing paragraph of the article
entitled, “What the beluga can teach us about ourselves,” jumped off the
page. It seemed to me the perfect takeaway, and something that can’t be
repeated often or loud enough.
It said, “What we do in our lives affects our entire world - its
soils, its rivers, lakes and oceans, its atmosphere, and all the living
things that share our planet. We must understand that when we do something
that harms the beluga, or the grizzly, or the spotted owl, we are also
harming ourselves.”
How right my Mom's simple philosophy of ensuring that Mother Nature never
knew we were there was. How typical but sad that I had to grow up before I
was smart enough recognize her wisdom and include her as one of my heroes.
Click the image if you would like to read the
full article from “Science Matters” by the David Suzuki Foundation.
Date:
July 15,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
EASTERN
MIGRATORY POPULATION UPDATE
Location:
Main Office
The Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) has shrunk by three with the loss of
wild-hatched chicks W4-10, W6-10 and W7-10. The latter two chicks
disappeared approximately 10 days ago. The carcass of W4-10 was found
yesterday.
W6-10
was last seen alive with its male parent 12-04 on July 3rd. When 12-04 was
observed on July 6th it was without the chick. W7-10 was also last seen in
the early morning of July 3rd, and it too was no longer in evidence when
checked on July 6th. Parents 17-03 & 3-03*and their chick W4-10 frequented
Pool 13 on the Necedah NWR. Twin chick W5-10 disappeared mid June.
These losses reduce the EMP to 97 Whooping cranes; 52 males, 43 females
and 2 chicks.
The photo to the right supplied by Richard Urbanek shows parents 17-03
& 3-03* with their now demised chick W4-10.
EMP ‘Families’
Parents 12-02 & 19-04* along with chick W3-10 remain in the area of their
nesting marsh in Wood County. Hatched June 7, this chick was produced from
an egg supplied by Patuxent WRC that was substituted for the parents’ two
infertile eggs.
Parents 3-04 & 9-03* with their chick W1-10 remain in the general wetland
area of their nest. Chick W2-10 also hatched by this pair disappeared in
early June.
Note: The female of pair 12-04 & D27-05*NFT disappeared between the
morning of June 29 and the afternoon of June 30 but reappeared July 12. In
the interim, the male continue to attend to the chick (W6-10) until it
disappeared ~July 3-6.
LOCATED OUTSIDE WISCONSIN North Dakota Ransom County
13-09, 19-09 (last reported May 25)
Michigan Jackson County
D37-07 (last reported April12)
Indiana Kosciusko County
27-07*
No Recent Record 16-03NFT (last observed on NNWR May 6)
14-05 NFT (last observed on NNWR May 18)
13-07 (last observed on Meadow Valley Flowage May 22)
20-05*NFT (may have been the unidentified whooping crane reported in Jackson
County May 24)
6-05 (last detected on NNWR May 31)
5-05NFT & 15-04*NFT (last observed on NNWR June 16)
Long Term Missing (more than 90 days)
5-08, 12-08 - Columbia County, WI -Dec. 10, 2009,
D36-08 - Lawrence County, TN - Dec. 11, 2009,
D33-05* - Jackson County, IN - Mar. 6, 2010,
27-09 - Waukesha County, WI - Apr. 10, 2010,
This update was compiled from data supplied by the WCEP Tracking Team
of Richard Urbanek, Eva Szyszkoski, Sara Zimorski, and Matt Strausser.
Date:
July 14 -
Entry 2
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
...AND
THEN THERE WERE TWO
Location:
Main Office
In an email from Dr. Richard Urbanek that came in at 6pm this evening we
learned that a fifth wild-hatched chick has been lost.
In his note Richard
said, "This morning Necedah NWR staff discovered the intact carcass of
whooping crane chick W4-10 in its usual area on Pool 13. The chick had last
been observed alive with its parents, 17-03 & 3-03, on the previous evening.
The carcass has been forwarded to the National Wildlife Health Center,
Madison, Wisconsin, for necropsy."
This mortality leaves just two of the seven wild-hatched chicks
surviving.
Date:
July 14,
2010 - Entry 1
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
CRANIACS'
GENEROUS GESTURE
Location:
Main Office
We recognize that there are many worthy charitable causes out there, many of
which are unknown to us, and we suspect to our Field Journal readers too.
One such endeavor came to our attention recently when we learned of a
philanthropic gesture made by long time Craniacs Dale Shriver and Judy
Rogers of Marengo, Illinois.
It seems that for some time now Dale has been
wondering what to do with his, "little spunky plane of 29 years.” On
discovering Wisconsin based ’88 Charlies Inc’ Dale and Judy paid them a
visit to check them out. Thrilled with what they found, Dale and Judy
donated his aircraft, ‘Greenie’, to the cause.
The 88 CHARLIES Restore A Plane
foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting aviation
by giving students the opportunity to restore real airplanes. “Our wish has
been granted,” said Dale. “As kids learn about science, engineering, and
aviation, Greenie will also help them to learn about themselves and about
life. He added, “Being in Wisconsin, these kids are within Whooper range and
in case they don't already know it, I will definitely make sure they are
aware of the Whooping crane story.”
To repeat what I wrote on 88 Charlies Inc’s FaceBook wall, What a good
friend Dale and Judy are to 'fliers'! They are hugely supportive of
endangered Whooping cranes through their support of Operation Migration and
now they are also benefactors to fliers of the two-legged variety.
Congratulations to 88 Charlies Inc and to Dale and Judy for their wonderful
generosity.
Click here to see photos.
Date:
July 13, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
TWO WILD
CHICKS MISSING
Location:
Main Office
Yesterday we received the latest news on the wild-hatched chicks from WCEP's
Administration and Communications Team leader, Joan Garland. She advised
that in a July 9th update from the Monitoring and Management Team they
reported that there were now only three surviving wild-hatched chicks. These
are: W1-10 (parents 9-03 & 3-04) W3-10 (parents 12-02 & 19-04) W4-10 (parents 3-03 & 17-03)
In all, the 2010 hatch season saw
a total of seven wild chicks hatched. W2-10 (parents 3-04 & 9-03*)
disappeared June 6-7th, and W5-10 (parents 12-04 & D27-05*) seemingly had
disappeared by June 16. The parent female, D27-05*, is also missing having
not been seen since approximately June 30th.
Joan noted that, "The two youngest
chicks, W6-10 (parents 12-04 & 27-05) and W7-10 (parents 11-03
& 12-03), have not been seen for awhile, and there’s every indication that
they are unfortunately no longer alive."
Date:
July 12,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
YOUNG
CRANIAC HONORED
Location:
Main Office
The
Richter’s, (Dale and Karen) of Leesburg, Georgia are justifiably proud of
son Taylor.
Fox31 News recently reported on Taylor being awarded a $1,000 college
scholarship. The scholarship, awarded to him for his volunteer efforts, was
part of a program operated by Kohl’s department stores. (Click
here for the full story including video.)
At the tender age of 12, Taylor is already a veteran Craniac. Not only
has he undertaken making presentations about Whooping cranes to peer groups,
he has been a contributing writer to OM’s magazine, INformation.
Several years ago, with some assistance from his dad, Taylor successfully
campaigned the state legislature of his home state of Georgia to have
November declared, Migratory Bird Month.
Congratulations to Taylor for earning the scholarship- and to Dale and
Karen for their outstanding parenting.
Date:
July 11,
2010
Reporter:
Brooke Pennypacker
Subject:
CAGE MAN
Location:
Laurel, MD
Those of you who have followed our project through the years have no
doubt become familiar with the names and even some of the faces of our team.
But there is one team member you never hear about; one who resides
mysteriously behind a veil of anonymity and yet contributes greatly year
after year to the success of the project. His name is Cage Man.
Cage
Man is the creation of Patuxent’s very own Brian Clauss, who one day after
suffering a bout of heat stroke while sitting in the White Series pen
socializing a cohort of chicks, arrived at a point in his life where art
intersected utility, form collided head on with function, ingenuity trumped
heat prostration, and where all that had been difficult became easy.
On that fateful day, Brian crawled in his debilitated state from the pens
to the shop, and seizing a role of wire mesh with one hand and a pair of
wire cutters with the other, embarked on a veritable frenzy of creation. The
resulting humanoid-like armature was soon clothed in a white crane costume,
and faster than you could say “Dr. Frankenstein, I presume," Cage Man was
born.
Soon after, he was hanging in the White Series pen where he underwent a
metamorphosis from Scarecrow to Love Crow. In the years that followed, he
would preside over the socialization of cohort after cohort of Whooper
chicks just prior to their shipment to Necedah and all that came after. His
presence would calm them, reassure them, give them comfort.
If this was Hollywood, that would be the end of the story. But this is real
life so the story gets crazier.
It seems our little Whoopers weren’t the only chicks to fall under Cage
Man’s spell. Soon, women from all over the Refuge, then all over the town,
were lined up outside the pen with the sole intention of getting next to the
old boy because it turned out that deep within all that mesh and cloth there
resided a small pearl of cosmic wisdom, which in this case turned out to be
the secret of how to make women happy. And what was the secret? TO LISTEN!
Cage Man was nothing if not a good listener.
Hour after hour they shared their innermost feelings with him. Day after
day they poured out their hearts to him while the Whoopers sat nearby,
holding their hocks tightly over their ears, reminding themselves the noise
could be worse, it could be a “John Tesh’s Greatest Hits” album . And the
only time he showed any emotion at all was when a breeze picked up.
Then relationship guru Dr. Shades of Gray came to interview Cage Man and
that interview provided the basis for his best selling book, “Male Whoopers
Are From Necedah, Female Whoopers Are From St. Marks”’. Soon, Cage Man was
on “Oprah” (“What’s your favorite color?” she asked. “White.” he replied.
Cage Man did not leave with a new car) Then it was ” Face the Nation” and
eventually the “Jerry Springer Show” when they found out there was a trailer
parked near the bird pen on which he hung. People Magazine voted him
“Sexiest Man of the Year” and a famous actress and tabloid darling claimed
he was the father of 8 of her 16 adopted children and that he had better
moves than her hunk actor husband. Then President Bush visited Patuxent and
spent an hour talking to Cage Man. The President, in a subsequent interview,
stated that Cage Man was the most interesting man he had talked to while in
office.
June 30th, the day Cohort One left, was thankfully cool. The dew covered
ground glistened while the sun peeked over the tree line and we lined the
bird boxes up in front of the pen. Cage Man looked on as we entered the pen,
led each chick into a box, then on to the van, and he watched, as did I,
while the van and the other costumes disappeared, leaving us to the
morning’s stillness. And that’s when he said it, in a whisper so soft it
could have only have come from my own within, “Sometimes…just being there
says all there is to say.”
I shook my head and popped a smile as I gazed back at Cage Man. The old
boy always did have a way with words.
Date:
July 10,
2010
Reporter:
Geoff Tarbox
Subject:
MOVING -
SETTLING IN
Location:
Necedah, WI
I had a good feeling about the day before me as I staggered out of my dingy
lair in the morning. For starters, I was optimistic that we were in for a
good day of training with the big kids at the North pen site. Sure, 2-10
and 3-10 have always had a bad habit of refusing to come out of the wet pen
for training. And it always takes a lot of sweet-talking, pleading, bribing,
and even a little Sicilian death curse invoking to get them to come out (if
they ever do). But I took the time to lock all the birds in the dry pen.
This morning, they had no choice but to come out for training. Sure, it left
them at the mercy of the evil, sadistic wet pen fence for the night. But if
that doesn’t whip them into shape, nothing will.
Nonetheless, the kids did
every bit as well as I hoped they would. Everyone including the increasingly
independent 2-10 and 3-10 came out to play with the trike. And they all
did marvelously. Sure, 2-10 and 3-10 mostly just brought up the rear, but
they still followed the trike. And watching the birds running after the
trike, flapping their wings as they beefed up those flight muscles, the
ground effect so close they could taste it, is nothing short of endearing.
After a few quick final touches to get the Canfield site ready, all we
had left to do was wait for the birds’ big arrival. When they arrived at
12:45 at Necedah Airport, it was much like it was with Cohort 1. OM waiting
patiently along the runway for the plane to make its grand entrance. The ICF
vet crew talking with us and amongst themselves. The only difference was
that the refuge rounded up a few lucky locals and photographers to witness
the big event.
Once the plane arrived, we off-loaded the birds and the vet crew looked
them over. I tried not to think about how poor 4-10 and 11-10 weren’t among
the birds on the plane, and how they may not be coming at all thanks to
their respective bugs in their plumbing. And how sweet old 14-10, one of our
best and brightest this year and my recurring favorite, would never come at
all.
But thankfully, the hardworking folks at ICF assured us that 10-10,
15-10, 16-10, and 17-10 had a clean bill of health and were ready for the
next big step in their journey. After ferrying them to the luxurious
Canfield site, we turned the kids loose and left them to their own devices.
They couldn’t have been happier. Each of them took off in their own separate
direction, exploring their new little world. Some of them stopped to gobble
up any unsuspecting bugs, tiny frogs, and rocks unfortunate enough to cross
their path. From the blind, I even saw 15-10 and 10-10 playing in one of the
water pans. From the way they were dipping their feet and sipping up the
water, I think it’s the start of a beautiful friendship.
The birds were still good spirits when I checked them several hours
later. They had moved under the shade to get out of the deceptively
oppressive Wisconsin sun. Good ol’ 10-10 was still getting familiar with his
surroundings. Part of it was that I think the poor guy was a little lonely.
His oldest training buddies, 11-10 through 14-10, the first birds he was
introduced to, had gone their own separate ways. Although he’s had plenty of
time to get to know 15-10 and 17-10 my gut tells me that bond isn’t as strong as
the one I watched him forge between 13-10 and 14-10.
But that didn’t stop him or any of the other kids in Cohort 2 from
eagerly embarking on the next big phase in their life. They’re all happy to
be here, and they’re ready for everything that Necedah has to offer them.
And from what Robert Doyle told me this morning, there’s still a chance that
11-10 and 4-10 could get better enough to catch a later flight. And when
they do, I know they’re going to be every bit as stoked as their bigger and
younger siblings were. Or if they don’t, that blood parasite and that
respiratory bug have made themselves an enemy.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must continue my ongoing struggle against the
zombie apocalypse in one of my video games. The game will give me an award
if I kill 53,595 zombies. And I’m still at a pitiful 38,931. Pitiful.
Date:
July 9, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
COHORT TWO
Location:
Main Office
The second cohort of Whooping crane chicks made their first flight this morning - all the way from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD to their new summer home located at the Necedah NWR in Wisconsin.
Of course they didn't fly that distance on their own! they barely have
wings yet - instead, chicks 10-10, 15-10, 16-10 and 17-10 were carefully led into individuals
crates this morning by the Patuxent crane crew and driven to the BWI airport
in Baltimore. Once there, they were loaded into a single turboprop Cessna
Caravan, owned and operated by Windway Aviation, who just last week made the
same flight with the seven cranes that make up Cohort One.
Windway pilots flew the aircraft containing the special passengers, at an
altitude of ~8,000 ft. from Baltimore to Muskegon Airport in Michigan for
refueling before crossing Lake Michigan and heading to the Necedah airport.
As I write this there are 8 minutes remaining in the flight, which we've
been tracking online. We have asked OM intern extraordinaire, Geoff Tarbox
to draft an update regarding their arrival, which we hope to post over the
weekend.
“Recycling your bird-and-nature magazines can be so much more
than simply using those paper-recycling bins once or twice a week. You can
make sure that those wonderful magazines do not disappear, underappreciated.
We know people who will keep every single copy of BIRD WATCHER’ S DIGEST,
WILDBIRD, BIRDER’S WORLD, BIRDING, LIVING BIRD, and every local or regional
bird publication that they get. But we also know people who make sure that
these magazines will have a second life in somebody else’s hands.
You can give the magazine to a friend or neighbor who is modestly curious
in birds. How about your doctor’s or dentist’s office, or a school library?
Remember: a good bird magazine is a great way to reach all sorts of people
with a message about the wonder of birds and nature.”
This form of recycling struck us as a terrific alternative to
one-time-use. As we currently work on the fall issue of OM’s semi-annual
magazine, INformation, we thought we should encourage our membership (who
receive complimentary copies of INformation) to do the same and help
expand OM’s outreach and raise awareness for the Whooping crane project.
Not yet a member? If you’d like to become one
click
here.
Note:Sometimes folks mistakenly think that by virtue of making a
donation they automatically become members of Operation Migration. This is
not the case. Ethical fundraising practices require that funds designated
for a specific purpose must be used for that purpose. For example, a
MileMaker sponsorship to help offset the cost of the annual migration cannot
be applied to Membership. Membership in Operation Migration is kept totally
separate from all fundraising campaigns and unless funds are designated as
being for that purpose they are not applied there.
Date:
July 8, 2010
Reporter:
Richard van Heuvelen
Subject:
TRAINING
UPDATE - COHORT 1+
Location:
Necedah, WI
Wednesday morning’s training went very well with nine birds following
the trike with uncommon obedience.
The sky was overcast, and sporadic fog hung over the refuge. As the fog had
me grounded, we decided to ground train the chicks before I went on my
morning wild-chick monitoring flight.
Geoff and Robert opened the pen doors and all seven chicks kind of jumped
out all at once. When we roared off down the run way two adults joined in.
They ran along with the trike and chicks, their buts wiggling back and forth
as they attempted to keep up to the young chicks. Soon they gave up running
and just flew along side the young cohort of chicks. When training finished
up and the chicks were put back in the pen the two adults sauntered off down
the runway.
Morning training concluded, I drove back to the hangar anticipating a chick
monitoring flight, but was faced with a wait for the fog to clear.
Date:
July 7, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
WHITE’S
WHOOPERTHON – IT’S A WRAP
Location:
Main Office
Continuing her Mother’s Day tradition of several years, Illinois Craniac Vi
White once again conducted her fundraising Whooperthon. As in the past,
joining Vi for her day of birding were daughters Ellen Savage and Lynn
O’Connor. The 2010 version of Vi’s Whooperthon took place on May 14, a
clear, sunny, but windy day that following days of rain had left them
wondering about their chances of pulling it off.
The trio began their bird
spotting adventure at The Grove, a national landmark on the outskirts of
Glenview, Illinois. Once home to Robert Kennicott, a famous 19th century
explorer-naturalist, The Grove’s walking trails wind through acres of
woodlands and marsh. Although as it turned out they sighted most of the 45
species of birds they racked up for the day at their first location, they
also spent some time in another riverside forest preserve not far down the
road.
Vi told us that one of the treats of the day was being able to observe a
very busy and vocal pair of Black-Capped Chickadees excavating a nest cavity
in a dead snag. Their most unusual and notable bird spotted was a
Black-Billed Cuckoo.
Much like the walk-a-thons we are all familiar with, Vi’s annual
Whooperthon asks folks to pledge an amount per bird sighted. While some
preferred to commit to contributing a lump sum, the end result was a grand
total of $3100 raised. What gives Vi’s yearly fundraising initiative even
more impact, is the matching funds added to the pot by another Illinoisan.
Someone Vi calls, ‘an Anonymous Angel’, matches the Whooperthon total dollar
for dollar.
Vi said, “Years ago, this Mother’s Day outing started out as just a
fun day of birding with my daughters during which they included treating me
to lunch. At one point we decided to add a conservation twist and turned it
into a fundraising vehicle. For the past four years our intent has been to
add visibility to the plight of the Whooping crane and to engender interest
in Operation Migration’s work to safeguard the species from extinction. And
together, we have a marvellous time doing it!”
All of us at OM are thrilled with the result of Vi, Ellen, and Lynn’s
efforts. We are sincerely grateful to you, and to your ‘Anonymous Angel’. It
just goes to show what individual initiative can do to help the cause. We
wish we had a hundred Vi Whites.
Date:
July 6, 2010
Reporter:
Joe Duff
Subject:
FAMILIARITY
Location:
Main Office
You would think after ten years most of what we do would be routine.
Admittedly some things are familiar, but it is surprising how much can
change and how quickly.
This spring started early with warm temperatures
and the discouragement we have become accustomed to as one by one the nests
were abandoned. Then the weather cooled and re-nesting was delayed just long
enough to miss the second wave of black flies, and from the ashes of yet
another failure grew the promise of seven wild hatched chicks. Five pairs
with a chick each and two sets of twins changed everything. Our budget went
out the window as the team went from two flights a day checking on the nests
to four daily trips to monitor chicks.
One chick from each set of twins was lost over the next few weeks but
that is normal for Whooping cranes. Richard van Heuvelen reported yesterday
that the search continues for 27-05, the first DAR bird to produce
offspring. She was paired with 12-04 in Juneau County, but has been missing
since last Wednesday. She has a non-functional transmitter so she can’t be
tracked, and has not been seen anywhere in the area despite the fact that
the male and the chick are still there.
Richard told us the 24 day old chick (W6-10) is now referred to as
super-chick for its ability to cover ground. The male frequents two ponds
almost a mile apart. They seem to be travelling back and forth, and the
chick keeps up. The male could be anxious and looking for its mate, or
avoiding whatever took the female.
The end product of this entire project is wild-hatched chicks that learn
the migration route we taught to their parents. With so many years of
nesting failure, many among us were starting to lose confidence. Ideas and
alternative began to emerge that ranged from ending releases in Wisconsin to
finding new introduction sites, and from controlling the black fly
population to changing the rearing methods. Some of those ideas still have
merit and should be explored, but there is renewed faith that we have not
been wasting our time over the last ten years.
Robert Doyle, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Geoff Tarbox, OM,
and Richard van Heuvelen have been working with the seven birds from Cohort
1. They are also preparing the Canfield pensite for the arrival of Cohort 2
planned for July 9th.
Brooke Pennypacker changed everything again today when he reported from
Patuxent that number 14-10 was lost as a result of an accidental broken leg.
Number 14 was one of the strongest birds. That leaves only 6 birds for
Cohort 2 and no Cohort 3 at all.
Last year we had 20 birds. This season we will be lucky to have 13. There
are many reasons for that low number. Part of it is lower production within
the captive flock. Also, in years past, several eggs were collected from
abandoned nests at Necedah and transferred to Patuxent. They were trained to
follow the ultralight, then returned to Necedah and we became surrogate
grandparents. We only have one of those chicks this year.
Part of the mandate of the Whooping Crane Recovery Team is to establish
three discrete populations so that one catastrophe does not threaten the
entire species. Partly because of the ongoing nest failures at Necedah, they
decided to begin a resident population in Louisiana. Those birds will be
released next January but they were hatched this spring and reduced our
numbers substantially.
This is the fifth year for the DAR experiment and a critical one to test
the method. We all agreed that program should be allocated a full cohort
this season to finally determine if it is a viable release method. Currently
there are 11 birds at ICF being prepared for Direct Autumn Release.
There was also a proposal to conduct a Parent-Reared study this season.
Four birds were to be raised by their captive parents at Patuxent and
released in the fall in Wisconsin to see if some parental instinct that
would keep them on their nests was missed by birds hatched in an incubator.
Also, a couple of genetically surplus birds were to be sacrificed to test
the impact of Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) on Whooping cranes. Neither of
these studies was prepared in time so they were not conducted but we could
have had even fewer birds this season for the ultralight program.
As the summer training begins, year ten looks a lot different than year
nine. After this many seasons maybe it’s the constant change that becomes
familiar.
Date:
July 5, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
DUCK
STAMP FUNDS MORE WETLANDS
Location:
Main Office
Excerpt from the July Birding Community
e-Bulletin
In mid-June, the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced that the
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) approved a total $5.3 million
in Federal Duck Stamp funds to add more than 1,849 wetland acres to six
units of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
These acquisitions have been funded with proceeds from sales of the
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, otherwise known as the
Federal Duck Stamp. These acquisitions include:
- Cache River National Wildlife Refuge (Arkansas) - 180 acres of bottomland
wetlands,
- Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (California) - 110 acres of the last
remaining riparian habitat along South Stone Lake, as well as associated
wetlands and uplands,
- Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (New Jersey) - 243 acres of
wetlands and upland fringes, the last natural open space on the northern
portion of Barnegat Bay,
- Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge (New Hampshire) - 162
acres of northern forest wetland
- Lower Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge (Tennessee) - 866 acres of wetland
and associated habitat, and
- San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge (Texas) - 288 acres for the
protection of a wetland complex.
For every dollar spent on Federal Duck Stamps, ninety-eight cents goes
directly to secure vital habitat in the National Wildlife Refuge System. To
date, more than 5.3 million acres of wetlands have been purchased using more
than $750 million in Stamp revenue.
The most recent Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (2010-2011)
was released on June 26. Birders and conservationists can get their Stamps
at Post Offices and National Wildlife Refuges across the country.
Date:
July 4, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
EASTERN
MIGRATORY POPULATION UPDATE
Location:
Main Office
As of June 26, the end of the most recent report period, there was no change
in the number of Whooping cranes in the Eastern Migration Population (EMP).
86 of the EMP’s 100 cranes were located in Wisconsin, two in North Dakota,
one in Michigan, and one in Indiana.
In their report, the WCEP Tracking
Team, consisting of Dr. Richard Urbanek,
(USFWS) Eva Szyszkoski, Sara Zimorski, and Matt Strausser,
(ICF) noted that two Whooping
cranes have not been located since spring migration and that three have been
missing long-term.
Five of this season’s seven wild-hatched chicks still survive. They are:
Wild 1-10 – Parents 3-04 & 9-03*
Wild 3-10 – Parents 12-02 & 19-04*
Wild 4-10 – Parents 17-03 & 03-03*
Wild 6-10 – Parents 12-04 & D27-05*
Wild 7-10 – Parents 11-03 & 12-03*
Date:
July 3, 2010
Reporter:
Joe Duff
Subject:
A BIRD BY ANY OTHER NAME
Location:
Main Office
If you have followed this website for a while, you will remember that there has been lots of discussion over the years about numbering or naming the birds. Some feel that names would personalize them and makes it easier to generate support for a project that lives on donations. Others contend that numbering the birds removes the impression that they are pets and discourages anthropomorphism.
Lately it hasn’t been the naming under scrutiny as much as the numbers themselves. Since our first migration with Canada geese back into the early 1990’s we have been using a numbering system that begins with the common denominator. We put the year first followed by the number of the individual bird beginning with the first hatched. The lower the number, the older the bird.
Another system evolved in the early years of the Whooping crane project. That listed the bird number first with the year at the end. When this change took place we had a large website audience and to avoid confusion we kept using our numbers while the rest of WCEP adopted the other method.
In truth, we don’t have to deal with the year portion of the numbers very often because we work with a new class every season. To us they are just one, two and so on and it’s only when they are released that it becomes important to distinguish them from the ones and twos of other years. We now have a hundred birds migrating in the eastern flyway and the WCEP numbering system is far more commonly used than ours. In fact, newcomers to our site are often confused by the two systems so we have decided to finally switch over. It is going to be perplexing for a great many people but it will be a short term bewilderment rather than an ongoing confusion.
There are thousands of pages of information on our website and the mechanics of switching over all of that archived material are frightening. So we will simply start using the other system and post a note warning of the discrepancy for anyone searching older pages. Journey North also uses our numbering system and they agree that it is time to switch over.
We apologize to all of our readers for the confusion this is likely to produce but maybe it is better to eliminate the inconsistency once and for all.
Date:
July 2, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
A BIRD IN THE HAND... GULF SURVIVAL
Location:
Main Office
Readers familiar with the Eastern Migratory Reintroduction are no doubt familiar with the name, Mark Chenoweth. For several years, Mark volunteered his time to write and produce a podcast, titled Whoopers Happening. Mark has recently moved on and is now producing a regular podcast for the
Endangered Species Coalition but he hasn’t stopped thinking about Whooping cranes and keeps in regular contact with us. He sent me the following yesterday and I asked if he would mind if I posted it in the Field Journal.
I had the privilege to talk with a guy very much in the current media spotlight, Jay Holcomb, the Executive Director of the
International Bird Rescue Research Center out of California, with a facility now in Fort Jackson, LA. His team, along with others and Tri State Bird Rescue, were brought in by BP to rescue oiled birds, assess their situation, and save as many as possible.
This is not work done by the faint of heart; what they are doing in Fort Jackson makes it possible to see 72 Brown pelicans fly back into freedom last Sunday morning at the Aransas NWR in coastal Texas (the same home to Whoopers
each winter, and which should, we hope, continue be a safe haven for them).
There are concerns, and you can hear what he said in the latest podcast I
did for the ESC which can be found at this
link.
Many people have offered their services to help clean oiled birds, only to learn that rightly so, there are strict regulations in place to ensure only licensed wildlife rehabbers are called into action. Some have said that those who rescue birds and clean them do so just to ‘feel good,’ mentioning the poor survival these birds may have after their release. I asked Jay about this, and he responded, ‘Well, I have to tell you… holding dying birds in your hands and watching this horrific event is not a ‘feel-good’ experience for me or any of the staff here. And there’s nothing wrong with the ‘feel-good’ part of it, which is using your skills to give something a second chance for life.’ It’s almost made like it’s a bad thing because you feel good about your job. Jay says such criticisms are often a result of evaluating old data recorded from different situations with other species. And in some cases, based on old legband returns, which are not reflecting what is happening now with more resources and the intense care these birds are receiving. Some data was nearly a decade old.
The work that the folks at Patuxent do is not a world apart from those saving birds in the Gulf right now. The birds in the Gulf are mostly healthy and became oiled as a result of this man-made disaster, while the issues they have at Patuxent are from genetic weakness perhaps, or the fragile chicks can become ill very quickly, developing respiratory problems that can result in mortality. Dr. Glenn Olson and his team, which includes OM’s Brooke Pennypacker, interns, and Brian and Barbara Clauss, do a job no less spectacular, though removed from the public and TV cameras, caring for, nourishing and insuring the best health possible to the young Whooper chicks. The degree of dedication and the emotional ‘roller coaster’ that Brooke wrote about in the June 26th entry are the same ride, and they also hold the young chicks in their hands at times, with too many dying even as they look at them. It is a job that few of us could comfortably perform, but one that must be done by special people.
Cleaning the oiled birds from the Gulf, perhaps the most visual aspect, is not the most important job performed when birds are rescued. Jay says assessment, nourishment and treatment to keep them warm and under watchful eyes is vital initially, and that many times the oil cleaning occurs later, sometimes even days after they are brought to the center in Fort Jackson. Birds regard those who rescue them as predators… the cleaning process is traumatic, and their strength to endure it must be ascertained before it begins. Cleaning oiled wildlife is something most of us would do, and it is a ‘feel-good thing’! Seeing wildlife trapped, fighting thick, gooey oil patches and sludge would motivate most of us to want to save them and want to see them as they were. But the trauma of this and time in the hot sun, combined with toxic effects the crude oil has on such fragile life forms often make death inevitable.
Watching life ebb and then disappear from the creatures we love and want to be with us is never easy, and those who do this have a special calling. The Patuxent Chick Rearing Team and those at the IBRRC are in a special comradeship, and while few may actually know each other, they share a bond of dedication and skill few of us ever will.
Holding a dying bird you are unable to help is not high on the bucket list for any of us I am sure, but special people at Fort Jackson, Patuxent, and many others, do what they do with our best wishes and prayers! Their work makes most of us feel pretty good, and that means they are entitled to feel great! Our heartfelt thanks go out to Jay and his dedicated team, those with Tri State Bird Rescue and many others, and always of course… thanks Brooke!
Date:
July 1, 2010
Reporter:
Geoff Tarbox
Subject:
JUNE 30TH
- MOVING
DAY
Location:
Necedah, WI
The morning was dull and uninteresting, as I waited for the first cohort to
arrive at Baraboo. But that all changed as soon as Windway's jet touched
down on the runway at 10:30.
June 30th was Cohort One’s long-awaited big
day. The day when they’d would leave the simple life of Patuxent behind them
and stretch their wings at the luxurious Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. I
was bummed that poor 1004 wouldn’t make this flight, thanks to that pesky
blood parasite in his/her plumbing. But I’ll bet you clean money
he’ll/she’ll make the next flight. He’s/she’s come too far to let this bug
get the best of him/her. But I digress.
Once the kids were offloaded from the plane, Dr. Barry Hartup and his
trusty entourage from ICF examined each of them through the air holes in
their crates and assured that they were in tip-top shape. From there, we
were homeward bound back to Necedah. We turned them loose in their new digs
at the North pen site, the same pen that Cohort 1 hung out at last year, and
Patuxent's Robert Doyle and I spent the rest of the day taking turns
watching them from the blinds.
I’m not ashamed to say, the kids took the move very well when I checked
on them at 3:00pm. It didn’t take them long for acclimate to their new
surroundings. They were already foraging, pigging out at the feeders, and
strolling around like they’ve always been there. And when I saw them again
at 6:00pm, they still seemed more or less happy with their new home.
The wet pen was starting to catch their eye. I counted at least four
birds, including 1001 through 1005 hovering around every chicks’ archenemy;
the chain-link fence that blocks off the wet pen from the dry pen. Those
four were trying everything from pacing (not frantically) to sweet-talking
it, to shooting it dirty looks. But for whatever reason, the fence remained
adamant even after I left. Sadly for them, outsmarting a chain link fence
isn’t as easy as outsmarting the ICUs at Patuxent. If Robert and Richard van
Heuvelen think Cohort One does well enough tomorrow or the day after, maybe
we’ll see how cocky that fence is against our uncanny ability to open doors.
But in the midst of all this, I had a sense of déjà vu creeping over me.
I felt like could’ve been watching my little pretties from 2009's Cohort
One. They've got the same lovable, five year-old mentality and curiosity,
the same charm, and the same hankering to get into that wet pen. And of
course, that same old bitter rivalry with that same sinister wet pen chain
link fence.
Really, wouldn’t you do this job again? I just hope they don’t have the
same rocky start to the migration that the Class of 2009 had last year.
Chasing and flagging down birds like 918, 926 and 910 is one slice of
nostalgia I don’t need.
Now if you excuse me, I’m off to watch my favorite musical number from
'Brave Little Toaster', then play a video game where I’m one of four
survivors slugging it out in the zombie apocalypse. I’ve got over 1200
zombies to kill and the evening’s still young.
Photos by Geoff Tarbox
Cohort 1 gets offloaded from the aircraft.
Travel crates
lined up outside the North pen site.
One
by one Cohort 1 chicks are released.
Checking out
their new digs.
Appearing to gaze longingly at the wetpen.
The footbath is
the closest they'll come to water for today.
Date:
June 30, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
COHORT ONE ARRIVES AT NECEDAH!
Location:
Main Office
One would think with this being the tenth year we've done this that it
would be old hat but let me assure you, we still hold our breath and sit on
the edge of our seats each time an event takes place. This morning, just
like they have for the past ten years, Windway Capital pilots were waiting
at BWI airport in Baltimore, ready to transport some precious cargo.
First, we heard from Brooke Pennypacker that 7 of the 8 planned for birds
in Cohort One had been crated and transported from the
Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center in Laurel, MD to Baltimore by Charlie Shafer. It turns out that
#1004 currently has a blood parasite that must be treated before he/she can
make the trip to Necedah, so this bird will make the trip with the second
cohort in a week or so.
We tracked the flight online and as the screen updated we began to relax
ever so slightly but it wasn't until just a few minutes ago when a call came
in from Richard van Heuvelen that we completely exhaled. Richard reported
that they touched down at the Wisconsin Dells airport at 10:19 and were
quickly checked by Dr. Barry Hartup from
ICF to ensure that each chick was
still upright inside its crate.
As soon as this was completed they were loaded into a waiting
air-conditioned van and transported north the the
Necedah NWR - their new
summer home and the first location they will see from the air in a few short
weeks once they begin to fly.
Our sincere appreciation and thanks goes out, yet again, to Windway
Capital Corp and to today's pilots: Mike Frakes and Matt Waage!
Date:
June 30,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
SOUTHERN
COMPANY'S REMARKABLE GIFT
Location:
Main Office
OM’s trucks, vans, and assorted trailers and motorhomes are somewhat obvious
on the road as we ride the highways and byways from Wisconsin to Florida on
the annual migration. This is especially true when we travel in a caravan
from one stopover to the next.
All our vehicles are workhorses, but by
wearing our corporate logo they do double duty as they draw attention and
raise awareness for the Whooping crane project. Folks spotting our logos,
passing us on the road or pulling up beside us at stop lights, will honk or
blink their lights and wave or give us the thumbs up. More often than not
when we make a pit stop or pull in somewhere for fuel or for groceries, at
least one or two people will come up to us to say hello and to chat.
Operation Migration is a small organization with a big job that is
perennially a challenge to fund. Because we are inevitably maxed out
expense-wise just meeting our project obligations, and despite the attention
and potential for support that advertising, marketing, or promotion could
attract, they are not things that ever make their way into the budget.
That is why we were thrilled when our corporate sponsor, Southern
Company, stepped in to raise our ‘on the road’ profile and to afford us
an opportunity to recognize their generous support of Whooping cranes at the
same time.
When you see what Southern
Company has done to our aircraft/equipment trailer, we
think you will agree that it will be very difficult to miss us whether we
are on the road or standing still. Talk about Whooping cranes making a
statement!
Southern Companyis well known for its commitment to the
environment and conservation. 2010 is the third year that Operation
Migration and Whooping cranes will benefit from a grant generated by
Southern Company through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
During our three year association with the good folks at Southern Company
I have met many of them personally and have learned how heavily involved
they, and their company are, in fostering partnerships to conserve
ecosystems and habitat and protect wildlife.
Speaking about the stewardship of species and habitats, Jeff Trandahl,
Executive Director of the
National Fish and
Wildlife Foundation said, "Strong programmatic, philosophical, and
financial support can achieve meaningful and significant benefits. We are
seeing results through focused conservation investments we've made with
Southern Company through programs like Power of Flight and Longleaf Legacy."
You don’t have to take our word for it though. Click the links to read
about Southern Company’s - philosophy on environmental
stewardship
Sincere thanks to Southern Company for adding promotion and outreach to
their many efforts on behalf of the environment and wildlife - most
especially, Whooping cranes.
Date:
June 29,
2010
Reporter:
Brooke Pennypacker
Subject:
THE BOX
Location:
Laurel, MD
“There just ain’t nothin in this big bad world like a good ol’ box.” Emperor
Confusionus proclaimed back in Roman times. “And if you don’t believe me,
just ask any turtle.” And he did. “How’s life, little fellow?” “Cool, man.
Real cool.” the turtle replied.
I know this to be true because when I was
a kid, the most exciting event in our lives was when one of my friend’s
mothers took delivery of a washer or dryer or stove and WE got the box. We
literally swarmed around it like ants to a dead bug and soon we carried it
off to some secret place for the transformation to begin.
My friend David - his mother wouldn’t let us call him Dave - wore thick
glasses and owned a sharp pencil so he was our design team while the rest of
us cut and carved and created until our space ship was born, one rivaling
anything we’d seen on TV. It became our stairway to the heavens,
transporting us through the galaxies of our imaginations, taking us to
places no boy had gone before .
As our hands worked the crayoned controls and our eyes gazed out the cut
out port holes in awe, we visited places where all was exciting and wondrous
as we imagined the unimaginable. Then, thrilled and spent, we gently
returned back to Earth and to the safe and warm familiarity of home. It was
enough to make Peter Hawkings give up astronomy and do karaoke full time…or
even trade voices with Carl Sagan.
And so it seems somehow fitting that tomorrow our eight little intrepid
voyagers of Cohort 1 should experience the Friendly Skies for the first time
on their first big flight from Patuxent to Wisconsin in a box…or rather, in
eight of them in the back of a Citation business jet, compliments of Terry
Kohler and Windway Aviation.
Nature has dictated that each chick hatches with enough Frequent Flier
miles to make the trip so tomorrow morning, the trip will begin, followed on
July 9th by the remaining six chicks of Cohort 2. With a whole lot of luck,
all 14 chicks will survive the summer at Necedah and begin their next big
flight the middle of October when our annual migration to Florida begins.
Meanwhile, “Keep looking up!” and call me collect when the new stove
arrives. I want the box. “Walt Disney, eat your heart out!”
Date:
June 28,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
PATUXENT
NEWS
Location:
Main Office
Brooke sent us these photos over the weekend. So you can get an idea of the
size, one of Patuxent's Interns poses inside one of the travel crates that
will be used on June 30 to air transport the chicks to Necedah. In the
second photo, several of the Cohort 1 chicks enjoy the water in the ponded
pen.
Date:
June 27,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
BABY -
TOT - TWEEN
Location:
Main Office
The
first cohort of the Class of 2010 has been getting a preview of their
soon-to-be life on the
Necedah
National Wildlife Refuge. The last stop on their learning curve while
still at Maryland's U.S.G.S Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center is spending time as a group in the ponded pens.
While visited and tended to during the day by the costumes, they have been
experiencing undisturbed nights in the great outdoors, giving them the
opportunity and freedom to forage at will, and to discover and practice the
all important skill of water roosting.
In the pen with them is the usual adult Whooping crane dummy, (seen in
Brooke Pennypacker's photo to the right) providing them with familiar
company and acting as an imprint model.
Scrolling back through previous Field Journal entries with photos you can
see how much and how fast the chicks have grown. Sprouting at an average of
one inch a day, even the chick crew marvels at the speed at which the little
brown fluff-balls morph from baby to toddler, and now to tween.
Bits of white plumage now break up the rich cinnamon brown coloration of
the eldest birds. Three more sleeps and they will be taking their first
flight - although it will be one that requires no effort on their part.
Early this coming Wednesday morning they will be jetting their way to the
Necedah NWR in first class fashion compliments of Whooping cranes' long-time
good friends of Sheboygan, Wisconsin based Windway Capital.
Date:
June 26,
2010
Reporter:
Brooke Pennypacker
Subject:
1013'S
ROLLER COASTER RIDE
Location:
Laurel, MD
It was simply not possible to grow up on the Jersey Shore without having
your horizon line broken somewhere by the giant tangle of trestle and track
called the rollercoaster.
Each and every summer evening of my youth was a
soundscape dominated by its undulating roar, like a huge piece of machinery
tearing itself apart again and again, backed by a pulsing chorus of shrill
screams and muffled hollers. From my bedroom window I could see it, hear it,
feel it.
Mr. Munley, who lived across the street ,was its operator. From June to
September, seven nights a week, he awakened this restless giant, tamed it,
maintained it, and made it do all that roller coasters do. “Never lost a
rider yet,” he used to say with understated pride.
My appreciation for this ever-present monster grew even greater when I
learned the history of its kind. Legend has it that back in the late 1800’s
while building the transcontinental railroad, a crew of over 2000 men of
many nationalities and races, some having served under flags of both the
Union and Confederacy, returned to work one morning after a night of
revelry, commemoration, and intoxicated inspiration, and set about creating
a railroad with no beginning and no end, to stand forever as a lasting
symbol of how the world really works. It was an instrument of highs and
lows, one that would thrill a man out of all feelings of lust and loss and
release him whole at its final stop spent, relieved and purposeful.
The foreman arrived later that day from a mandatory political correctness
meeting. Upon seeing what the men had constructed and recognizing it to be
as much philosophical statement as it was a construct of their collective
imagination, he immediately ordered an assemblage.
As the men, wringing with sweat and bursting with pride, crowded close to
absorb his displeasure , he spoke the words that would resonate again and
again through subsequent decades, describing pretty much half of what some
would refer to as the human condition. “Men,” he said, what we have here is
a failure to communicate. Or not. But what the hell. Let’s call it a Roller
Coaster.” The men gave up a resounding cheer which is said to have lasted
well into the night.
But it is the roller coaster of emotion that is life’s true monster ride.
One minute it cradles and carries you on its upward trajectory to the very
heights of hope and excitement, to an arching place of true joy and
satisfaction. Then, with a speed so great you don’t think your body parts
will hold together, it drops you with utter contempt into a dark abyss of
sadness and despair. This is the roller coaster one climbs aboard when one
passes through the gate into Patuxent.
Why all the talk of roller coasters you may wonder. Simply because it’s
easier than writing about the loss of our special little friend, #1013, who
despite the heroic efforts of our medical staff and crane crew, succumbed
yesterday afternoon to a respiratory illness which had attacked suddenly the
day before.
As is so often the case, he seemed fine in the morning, his demeanor
characteristically jubilant and sure. Then there came a cough, and then
another and another. The passing minutes cast an ever dimming shadow over
him until the very act of breathing soon became his challenge. Emergency
surgery offered us hope, and for a time, he seemed to be improving. But the
fates, always lurking in the shadows, eventually intervened and he was gone.
We had shared this world together for 34 days. We can only hope he enjoyed
our company as much as we enjoyed his.
We recently learned, that for
the tenth straight year, the DWCF has awarded OM a grant for our work with
endangered Whooping cranes for the 2010/2011 season. One of the few, if not
the only organization that has supported OM every single year since the
Whooping Crane Project’s inception, DWCF’s continuity of support has
provided our organization with a degree of vital funding stability.
Established in 1995 as a global
awards program for the study and protection of the world’s wildlife and
ecosystems, the
Disney Worldwide Conservation makes awards to nonprofit conservation
organizations. Since its inception, the fund has contributed $15.6 million,
distributed to more than 800 projects in 111 countries. Whether they swim,
fly, crawl, slither, or hop, endangered animals are the fund’s focus.
Through awards from this fund, Disney helps ensure the survival of wildlife
and wild places in all their beauty and diversity.
In addition to financial support, Disney also supports the Whooping crane
project in other invaluable ways, not the least of which is providing vet
support, as well as assistance with winter monitoring at the St. Marks
National Wildlife Refuge.
Date:
June 24,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
WILD-HATCH CHICK MISSING - 1013 PROVIDES A SCARE
Location:
Main Office
It is probable that one of the twin chicks belonging to the sibling pair 317
& 303* is dead. The weekly Friday summary reports provided by Necedah refuge
biologist, Rich King and which usually come to us via WCEP has not been
received, so this news is unofficial. Reports are however, that the chick
has not been seen since some time last week.
If the chick's demise is
confirmed, it will leave five pairs, each with one chick. The other four
parenting pairs are: 403 & 309*; 212 & 419*; 311 & 312*; and 412 & D527*.
Recent weather, in the form of rain and/or thunderstorms, has put a crimp
in aerial surveys of the territories of the five pairs with
young-of-the-year. OM trike pilot, Richard van Heuvelen, took over 'chick
patrol' duties on the weekend relieving Chris Gullikson.
The latest word from Brooke at Patuxent is that Class of 2010's #1013
took a very bad turn yesterday with a respiratory problem. Some fast action
by the vet team there seems to have helped as Brooke reported that the chick
now appears to be doing better, giving rise to hope for its survival.
What a rollercoaster ride this season is turning out to be. The Kleenex
supply is taking a beating and I'm turning holding my breath into a fine
art.
Date:
June 23,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
GETTING
READY FOR 'MOVING DAY'
Location:
Main Office
The action in Maryland these days consists of getting ready.
With Cohort
#1’s journey to the west just one week off, getting them and their costume
handlers set for the trip is the order of the day. Their crates, specially
built for their flight to Necedah, are all clean and ready to go, and
Patuxent’s Robert Doyle and OM intern Geoff Tarbox are busy this week
preparing for their road trip from Laurel, MD to Necedah, WI. They will make
their way there this weekend in order to put things to rights in the chick’s
new environment prior to the arrival of the eight eldest chicks in the Class
of 2010. (1001, 1002, 1003. 1004, 1005, 1006, 1008, and 1009)
Speaking with Brooke last evening he reported that the eight chicks are
acclimating well to the ponds in the White series pens. “Not only are they
getting along great,” he said, “they are enjoying being in the water for the
first time. They are wading birds after all, and the frogs, snakes and other
critters they are finding to snack on there are their own reward.”
The time in the ponded pen has another benefit. “Being in the pond helps
boost their collective sociability,” Brooke said. “Because they are so busy
investigating everything, discovering the water and all its delights, they
are less interested in being aggressive to each other.”
In anticipation and preparation for their soon-to-be new home, tonight
may be the time that Cohort 1 experiences their first night left alone in
the ponded pen. They'd better get used to it - because that’s life at
Necedah.
Date:
June 22,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
NEW OM
GEAR
Location:
Main Office
Thanks to the generosity of North Sails,
we have added a cool
designer
logo’d t-shirt to our line of OM Gear. Available in white or yellow, the
tagless tee comes in unisex sizes small through 2XL.
This current support of Operation Migration by North Sails is far from the
company's first. Craniacs and Field Journal readers will recall that not
long ago North Sails stepped in to save the day when we were struggling to
produce five sets of wing covers to protect our trike wings from inclement
weather and frost while on migration.
North Sails’ beginnings date back to the late 1950’s. Recognized as the
world’s premier sailmaker, the company has 63 major lofts and 56 service,
sales, and satellite lofts in 29 countries.
For the days that a t-shirt alone isn’t enough, cover up with one of
OM’s
lightweight windbreakers. A new item this year, the jackets have a
zipper front closure, elastic cuffs, and come in both men’s and ladies’
styles.
Last but not least, don’t miss the newest addition to OM’s line of
jewelry. You have to see the 8 miniature gold cranes stacked inside their
glass
pendant to believe it. A lovely piece, and it makes a great gift.
Date:
June 21,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
THE 'AWWW'
FACTOR
Location:
Main Office
What is it about babies, human, animal or avian, that arouses an instinctive
response in us? What is it that makes us want to coddle and protect them to
enable if not ensure their survival?
Konrad Lorenz, a Nobel Prize winning
zoologist, proposed it is the way they look – miniature, almost
caricature-like replicas of the adult form – that elicits the protective
parental response. While in fact the biological basis for this is not
proven, I suspect it is the rare individual who has not experienced such a
response.
This season, with the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) producing seven
wild-hatched chicks, elation and optimism both within and without the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) soared. The hatches, coming as
they did subsequent to end of the primary black fly bloom, seem to suggest
that with some human help, the repetitive nest abandonments at the Necedah
National Wildlife Refuge might be mitigated if not resolved in the future.
What is in the cards for the EMP’s 2011 nesting season will be determined
once all the research studies performed this spring have been collated and
analyzed.
Meanwhile, what we are left with is the sheer excitement of having had
hatch success and chicks ‘on the ground’. Put that excitement together with
our instinctive response to seeing a bunch of fluffy, little bundles of joy,
and what comes out of the mix is a recipe for emotional highs and
corresponding lows. Why? Because nature’s law of averages says that it is
more likely than not that no more than half will survive. Our Whooping
cranes are first-time parents, and first-timers are notorious for not
getting it right first time around so it is possible if not probable that
the chick survival rate could be even lower.
So while we rejoice the hatch successes, we have to temper the
celebration with a dose of pragmatism. Of the seven wild-hatched chicks, one
has been confirmed lost so far (one of 309* and 403’s twin chicks). A
rumored loss of a second chick of another pair is not yet confirmed.
As we’ve pointed out before, a lot can happen between
hatch-fledge-migration. At the same time, being realistic about our
expectations – or should I say wishes and dreams – is easier said than done.
But keeping nature’s way in mind helps to maintain perspective and to ‘keep
it real’.
Date:
June 20,
2010
Reporter:
Trish Gallagher
Subject:
Out for a swim
Location:
Laurel, MD
From the time a chick is about a week old until it’s about three weeks
old, it gets a daily exercise period in the swimming pool. You might think
this is no big deal because cranes are birds that hang around water all the
time, right? But they hate it!
I used to wonder why until I realized that they’re actually wading birds.
Have you ever seen a heron swimming around the wetlands? Probably not. The
reason we swim young chicks is because it helps them develop strong legs and
can prevent some of the problems that can occur when they’re raised in
captivity. So really, we’re doing it for their own good and they like it
about as much as your kids do when you tell them it’s for their own good.
Chicks are carried to the pool by a costumed technician, gently placed in
the pool, and then swum around for 20 minutes. Almost all of the chicks hate
it, if you can gauge their emotions from their peeping. This year I was
promoted to a chick swimmer. I have now been trained to swim the younger
chicks in the small pool, which is about 10 feet long, 4 feet wide and 2½
feet deep. It’s placed up on blocks so it’s about hip height.
Now I must confess that after a while, sodden, crying chicks all look
alike, so this story is really a composite. It’s dedicated to all of the
chicks who are afflicted with curved legs – they have to swim TWICE a day
instead of once. As you might have experienced in your own life, when you
have to do something that you dislike twice a day, your feelings about it
don’t just double – they multiply.
When I first started swimming Peeper (not his real name!), he didn’t seem
to mind swimming. He would trill occasionally, mostly when he swam close to
the costume, and peep sometimes, but mostly he would swim along without too
much difficulty. A few times during each swim, I toss some meal worms into
the water when the chick has his back turned. That tasty treat provides a
reward that keeps the chick swimming. During early swims, when Peeper would
turn and see the worms floating on the surface, he would zoom over and
gobble them up, trilling happily. But each time he went for another swim,
his enthusiasm dimmed a little more.
Yesterday was the culmination of a week of daily swims. When I went into
Peeper’s pen, he assumed his alarm posture – standing up straight and tall
(all 6 inches of him!) and peeping loudly as I approached. After I scooped
him up, he gave a quiet little peep and then settled down while we walked to
the pool. But as soon as he saw the pool, he started crying again.
As I gently lowered him into the water, he started hollering and
continued in that vein the entire 20 minutes. A few times during the swim, I
tossed some meal worms into the water when he wasn’t looking. When he would
turn and see the meal worms, his loud hollering would settle down to minor
peeps while he snatched the worms out of the water, and then he would
resuming his loud complaining. There was not a single trill.
Finally, when we were done with his exercise, I scooped him out of the
water. He trilled his delight, as if to say, “Thanks for ending my misery!”
Then he realized he was being held and started peeping again. I walked back
to his pen gently set him down on the grass outside.
He was still dry on his topside, but sopping wet underneath. He shook
himself a little and then ran over to the adult in the next pen and peeped
as if to say, “There’s nothing right about it! Why do they keep dragging me
over to that pool and making me swim when you don’t have to do it?” He shook
himself again and started preening.
When I checked back a few minutes later, he was all dry and fluffy again.
He even trilled at me the next time I went into his pen, so I assume there
are no hard feelings. Well, at least until the time comes for his afternoon
swim.
Date:
June 19,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
OM TEAM
GROWS
Location:
Main Office
The Eastern Migratory Population is not alone in adding to its numbers.
Operation Migration itself has recently added to its personnel roster.
Barbara Corcoran, a resident of Uxbridge, a neighboring community to OM’s
Port Perry headquarters location, recently joined OM’s admin staff.
Barbara's title is Communications and Fundraising Assistant, but as with all
OM staffers, she will without doubt find herself wearing any number of hats.
Her primary focus however will be helping to lighten my load with
communications relating to volunteers and memberships, and assisting with
the creation of media, website and outreach documents, including our
magazine, INformation. Her journalism background will be a great fit
for this. Barb will also be gradually working her way into supporting and
assisting our fundraising efforts too.
Barbara works 10 to 5 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so the new
voice you hear when you telephone OM will be hers. Take a moment to welcome
her to the OM family when you call. You can read Barb's bio on our
Meet the Team
webpage.
Date:
June 18,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
EASTERN
MIGRATORY POPULATION TRACKING UPDATE
Location:
Main Office
In this update, * = female; D = Direct Autumn Release bird; NFT =
Non-functional transmitter
For the period ended June 12, the WCEP
Tracking Team reported they estimated the size of the Eastern Migratory
Population (EMP) as being 101 Whooping cranes. This consisted of 52 males,
43 females and 6 chicks. In comparison, their mid-May report listed 58 males
and 44 females for a total of 102.
The difference between the
mid-May and mid-June population numbers can be accounted for as follows:
- The number of males was reduced by six due to the
recent mortality of 709, and long-time missing birds 511, 516,
D628, 706, and 724 being presumed and declared dead. (see list below)
- The number of females was reduced from 44 to 43 with
long-time missing bird D744* being presumed and declared dead. (see list
below)
- The addition of the six wild-hatched chicks.
LAST KNOWN LOCATIONS North Dakota
913
919
Detected May 16 in
flight over core reintroduction area in Wisconsin. Last reported May
22 and 25 in Ransom County. No subsequent reports.
Michigan
D737
Last reported April 12
in Jackson County.
Indiana
727*
Last reported May 5-12
in Kosciusko County.
Long Term Missing (more than
90 days)
D533*
Last reported Feb. 25 -
Mar 6 in Jackson County, IN.
805
812
Departed Columbia
County, WI Dec 10, 2009.
D836
Disappeared from
Lawrence County, TN between November 29 and December 11, 2009.
Missing –
Presumed dead and now removed from population number
D744*
Last recorded in
Paulding County, OH Nov 18, 2008.
This update was compiled from data supplied by the WCEP Tracking Team
of Richard Urbanek, Eva Szyszkoski, Sara Zimorski, and Matt Strausser.
Date:
June 17,
2010
Reporter:
Trish Gallagher
Subject:
The First Time the Engine
Starts
Location:
Laurel, MD
The other day I got to help Brooke train. He usually trains alone because
the chicks get confused if there’s too much going on, so one handler and one
trike are enough for the chicks to manage. But once in a chick’s life,
Brooke starts the engine for the first time. On this day, he likes a second
person there to act like a brood model and provide a safe haven for the
chick when the engine starts.
Inside the prop building we play a wetland
recording and outside there aren’t any loud noises. There can be a dull roar
from cars on roads outside the refuge and the noise of occasional plane
flying overhead, but in general, it’s quiet and peaceful (this is also a
bonus for the handlers who live in cities most of the year!).
Imagine being six inches tall and following a giant over to a big yellow
thing. It’s logical that you would follow the giant – it has meal worms and
they taste so much better than that kibble back in your run! There you are,
enjoying your snack, trilling your happiness and enjoying the sounds of the
meadow. And then, all of a sudden, the yellow thing starts roaring!
PEEP! PEEP! PEEP! The chick looks around wildly. What the heck is that????
That’s where I come in. After Brooke leads the chick into the circle pen,
I step inside too. I sit on the ground between the chick and the trike and I
spread my costume out so the chick has somewhere to run for comfort while he
gets used to what must seem like the end of the world. After all, the noise
sounds loud to me and most of the time I live in a world of cars and trains
and lawn mowers.
I sit there with a puppet holding a meal worm and gently encourage the
chick to go back to his snack. Gradually, the chick starts eating again,
maybe even trilling a note or two. Once the chick calms down, Brooke starts
revving the engine.
PEEP! PEEP! PEEP! There it goes again!!!! What the heck???
We repeat the process. If all goes well, the next step is for me to exit
the pen and walk beside the trike while Brooke drives it around the circle
pen. The chick follows along and we stop now and then to dispense more meal
worms from the puppet.
It might be a nerve wracking day in the life of an ultralight chick, but
it’s a special day for me because I can act like a real crane mama and brood
my chick.
Date:
June 16,
2010 - Entry 2
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
AERIAL
SURVEY
Location:
Main Office
On his 'chick patrol' flight this
morning, ultralight pilot Chris Gullikson managed to take photos of some of
the new chicks.
Top Left: 403 & 309* attending 18-19 day old chick, Wild1001,
on their usual territory.
Top Right: 311 & 312* bracket their new offspring about 200
yards southeast of their nest which is at the edge of very small
wetland. Perhaps the adults will move their chick to better habitat.
Bottom Left: Lone adult (either 412 or D527) stands sentinel.
On his flight this morning Chris did not spot both adults of the 412/D527
pair. (What he saw is shown in the photo above.) He noted that the
second adult is often seen foraging in a wetland about a mile to the south
southeast.
Sighted just southeast of their nest location were 317 & 303*. Chris
could see that they were attending one chick. The second chick was not
visible, but Chris said it could have been there because they are very hard
to pick out.
Date:
June 16,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
EMP
REPRODUCTION FINAL RE-CAP
Location:
Main Office
The re-nesting (and late nesting) of seven pairs is finished. All incubated
for full term and five pairs hatched a total of seven chicks. The nests of
the other two pairs contained non-viable eggs.
PAIR
RE-NESTED
NOTES
403 &
309*
April
29-30
Two
chicks hatched May 30-31. One chick disappeared June 6-7.
212 &
419*
May
9-11
Two
infertile eggs were swapped with one captive-produced egg from
Patuxent June 6. Chick hatched June 7.
311 &
312*
May
9-12
One
chick confirmed hatched June 12. Second egg did not hatch.
412 &
D527*
May
10-15
One
egg was seen in water June 10 and did not hatch. Chick hatched from
second egg June 11.
317 &
303*
May
11-12
Second re-nest had hatched one chick by at least June 10. Two chicks
were visually confirmed by June13.
Not
Successful
402 &
D746*
April
29-30
One
egg incubated past full-term was found to be infertile when
collected June 7.
213 &
218*
May
6-8
The
single non-viable egg was incubated past full-term and was collected
June 14.
Date:
June 15,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
THE CLASS
OF 2010
Location:
Main Office
I am undoubtedly not alone anxiously waiting to hear how, in addition to
Wild1001, the five new wild-hatched chicks are fairing. While we, (or at
least me) are waiting not so patiently for more Necedah chick news, thanks
to Brooke, and Geoff’s great personality notes, I can fill you in on the
ultralight-led Class of 2010 at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.
(Perhaps we can twist Geoff’s arm to give us the lowdown on the rest of the
chicks.)
Geoff reports that 1001 through 1009 are now living completely
outdoors in the White Series Pens. “1001 to 1005 are housed in a two-pen
suite, while 1006 to 1009 have a separate pen to themselves,” he said. “This
is one of the final steps in their socialization regimen before they get
shipped to Necedah. Chicks 1010 to 1017 are still living in the chick
propagation building, each in their own separate pen."
Brooke advised that yesterday, all of the chicks designated for Cohort 1 and
scheduled for air transport (compliments of Windway Capital) to Necedah on
June 30th, had their pre-shipment health checks. Happily, all passed with
flying colors.
Eight chicks will comprise Cohort 1. They are numbers 1001, 1002, 1003.
1004, 1005, 1006, 1008, and 1009. Cohort 2, made up of 1010, 1011, 1013.
1014, 1015, 1016, and 1017, won’t make the trip to Wisconsin until they are
a little older and have had more training time. Their anticipated arrival
date at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is July 9.
The photo to the right shows you one of the ways the Chick Crew at the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center keeps track and can tell at a glance
exactly what is on tap for each of the chicks on any given day.
If you’ve done the math you will have figured out that the ultralight-led
Class of 2010 will consist of a maximum of 15 young cranes. Here’s hoping
none develop any problems and they all stay healthy.
CHICK #
EGG SOURCE
HATCH DATE
PROGRESS / NOTES
1001
Patuxent WRC
May 1
1002
Calgary Zoo
May 4
Always curious, and not afraid to try new
things. Trusts the costume, but doesn’t put up with hassling from
fellow chicks and isn’t afraid to ‘get in their face’. Is being
walked with 1001 in the hope of ‘putting him in his place’.
1003
Necedah NWR
May 4
Can be pretty aggressive towards specific
birds, for instance, when being socialized with 1004, would take
shots at him whenever he got close enough. 1004 did what he could to
keep his distance but 1003 seems to have gotten it out of his system
now that both are housed together in the same outdoor pen.
1004
Calgary Zoo
May 5
Gets along with its training partner, 1003.
1005
Patuxent WRC
May 8
Tends to be very stubborn and was always a
little more challenging to rear when still a wee chick. It can take
handlers as much as a half an hour trying to get 1005 on the walk on
scale and stay there long enough to get a reading.
1006
Patuxent WRC
May 11
Seems to be a loner, an introvert, and not fond
of confrontations. Is content to wander off and do his own thing.
This made 1006 a little hard to raise as a baby chick since its
attention was focused elsewhere. It’s been kind of amusing to see
him just wander around the white series pens happily foraging while
1008 and 1009 tried to hang out with the costume.
1007
Patuxent WRC
May 13
Died May 21
1008
Patuxent WRC
May 13
Oddly enough, 1008 seems to be the big cheese
of the pseudo cohort of 1006 to 1009. Isn't afraid to throw its
weight around even with the bigger birds like 1006 if it thinks it
can get away with it. How it will do with the even bigger/older
birds, including the no nonsense 1002, remains to be seen. (Geoff
says his money is on 1002.)
1009
Patuxent WRC
May 16
Very clingy and dependant. In the White Series
pens it goes out of its way to hang out with the costumes to the
point it would rather sit and bake in the sun with the costume than
go into the shade on its own and get a drink. When trying to wean
1009 off the costume, it spent most of the time trying to find it,
or hanging out where it thought the costume was hiding. Now that it
is living in the White Series pens without much contact from the
costumes it has gotten more independent but is still the first to
greet them when they show up.
1010
Calgary Zoo
May 16
Very casual, laid back, and not particularly
demanding. Typically goes along with the costume.
1011
Patuxent WRC
May 18
1011 is the Thug. This chick has to be walked
separately, although it should be getting walked with 1010 and 1013.
Extraordinarily aggressive, it has gone out of its way to go after
other birds when it sees them. When leading it by 1008's and 1010's
pens it tried to take shots at them from behind the bars. “This
scared both of them, and me,” said Geoff. “I actually had to
physically push him away from 1008 and 1010 with my puppet since
there was no other way of getting him to stop.” 1011 is now being
walked with 1002 in the hope that it will show it who’s the boss.
Reports are it is working and that 1002 is putting 1011 in its
place.
1012
Calgary Zoo
May 19
Died June 2
1013
Patuxent WRC
May 20
1014
Calgary Zoo
May 21
Seems to be a fairly quick learner and is a
pleasant bird to be around.
1015
Patuxent WRC
May 24
1016
Patuxent WRC
May 26
1017
Patuxent WRC
May 26
Date:
June 14,
2010 - Entry 2
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
WHAT A
WEEKEND!
Location:
Main Office
When we headed for home on Friday the latest word we had was that there
was still just one wild hatch chick in the Eastern Migratory Population. The
chick, Wild1001, was the surviving twin of the hatch by parents 309* and
403.
Recently returned from Wisconsin, Richard van Heuvelen came in the office
this morning and gave us some amazing news - we now have five more wild hatched chicks!!
The Hatch Report Card
212 & 419*: A fertile egg from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center’s
captive population was swapped for their two infertile eggs by ICF staff.
The day following the swap the chick hatched.
303* & 317: After two failed nesting attempts, they succeeded in
hatching two chicks.
412 & D527*: This pair laid two eggs but one was lost due to falling
into nearby water. The chick that hatched is the first ever by a Direct
Autumn Release bird.
311 & 312*: On his last over-flight, OM pilot Matt Ahrens, reported
spotting one chick and one eggs still in this pair’s nest.
With no remaining active nests, it appears the nesting season is
officially over. 213 & 218* are still nesting, but being almost a week past
the anticipated hatch date that nest is not likely to be productive. One
other nest, that of 402 and D746*, was also incubated long past the
anticipated hatch date. The egg from that nest was collected and determined
by ICF veterinary staff to be infertile.
A lot can happen between hatch / fledge / and migration, and it is likely
unrealistic if not over-hopeful to expect 100% survival. But…there’s no
denying that the Eastern Migratory Population is working hard to prove they
CAN do it.
Date:
June 14,
2010 - Entry 1
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
TRIP TO
JAPAN - ACT NOW
Location:
Main Office
OM's own Walt Sturgeon, along with Zoologist Dave Davenport, is leading an
extraordinary tour to Japan. In addition to special opportunities to view
cranes and other birdlife, the tour being arranged through EcoQuest Travel
includes visits to cultural sites and the country's natural wonders.
Walt
tells us they still have spots left, but the time to express your interest
is now.
Click this link to read an earlier Field Journal entry about the tour,
and to access how to receive more details/information.
Date:
June 13,
2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
NPR
PRESENTS MIGRATION RESEARCH
Location:
Main Office
Thanks to Billy Brooks, from USFWS Jacksonville, FL office, for this
suggestion.
Below you will find two links to two absolutely fascinating audio stories
about bird migration on the award winning NPR show “Talk of the Nation”. The
first one was done at Cornell and consisted of a panel of leading
ornithologists and the latest research on migration. They’re MP3 files and
you can listen to them via your computer’s speakers just by clicking on the
links. I’m sure you will enjoy them and find them quite interesting and
worth your time.
Note: The first one is 47:13 long; the second is
only 7:26, but we think you will find both are fascinating and well worth
listening to.
A new tool to help us all identify North American birds is now available
thanks to financial support from Environment Canada and USGS Geological
Survey, and, in-kind support from the Mexican Biodiversity institute CONABIO.
According to its website, “Dendroica
is an interactive site developed to help students, volunteers and
professionals improve their skills at identifying birds by sight or by
sound, particularly so that they can participate in nature survey and
monitoring programs.”
Originally developed to aid participants of the Breeding Bird Survey and
other scientific surveys of Canadian bird species to develop their bird song
identification skills,
Dendroica has been expanded to allow anybody to use the program to
develop their bird identification skills using both sound and pictures.
The website includes birds from throughout Canada, USA, and Mexico, and
participants can contribute new photographs and sound recordings so it will
continue to improve over time.
“Dendroica allows you
to browse through lists of species found in a particular region to see their
pictures and listen to their songs and calls. You can then quiz yourself,
based on songs or photos or both, to see how well you have learned the
species. You can develop your own custom list of species for study.”
To use all the program features or to submit your own photos or sound
recordings, you must register and sign in – but it is free. If you prefer,
you can use the site as a guest.
Date:
June 10, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
NEW ITEM IN THE MARKETPLACE
Location:
Main Office
We've added a new item to the Marketplace that we hope you'll really like! The latest addition is a really neat vial
pendant - complete with 8 teeny tiny metallic gold
origami cranes inside it. Each little crane has been carefully folded from textured Kingin Washi paper by origami artist Kimberly Vu - a student at York University in Toronto.
I purchased one of these from Kim a couple of months ago and have been
wearing it since. I'm constantly getting compliments on it because it's so
unique and it's a great way to start a conversation about my favorite
subject - cranes!
Everyone here at headquarters liked it so much that we commissioned Kim
to create a limited supply of the necklaces so that we could offer it to
you. Be sure to check it out - I hope
you like it as much as we do!
While you're in the Markplace, be sure to have a look at the other new
items that have been added recently. The
ballcaps have been re-stocked, and we've added some nice
windbreaker jackets, which are ideal
for spring and fall birding adventures.
Date:
June 9, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
PATUXENT IN THE NEWS
Location:
Main Office
Washington Post journalist and reporter, Ed O'Keefe recently visited the crane ecology crew at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. I thought you would enjoy seeing
what goes on behind the scenes and meeting just a couple of the many people that work tirelessly all year long, but especially
so at this time of the year when all the crane chicks are hatching. Enjoy!
Date:
June 8, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
NESTING UPDATE
Location:
Main Office
With Chris Gullikson back following a successful storm chasing trip, he has now relieved Richard van Heuvelen as the pilot at Necedah NWR for nest/chick monitoring duties.
Each day, weather permitting, flights are made in the ultralight to monitor
the nesting activities, and to check on any chicks.
Using the ultralights allows for low level passes and since the birds are
already familiar with these aircraft, they barely even glance skyward as it
passes overhead. It's much less intrusive than approaching the nest location
on foot - if it's even accessible by foot.
This season twelve pairs initiated nesting - some as early as the first
week of April. All of the early April nests failed but this gave those pairs
ample opportunity to re-nest, and those pairs that waited to build their
first nest of the season till the end of April and into mid-May seem to be
sticking to their incubation duties.
The following table provides information on which pairs nested, and when,
as well as the outcome or current status.
D=Direct Autumn Release bird, *=female
Pair
Est. Date of Incubation
Active
Nest Status
311 & 312*
May 9-12
√
June 7th PM flight: Adult standing on nest. 2
eggs visible
D746 & 402
April 29-30
1 egg seen on previous flights. June 7th AM
flight: nest was being incubated.
past expected hatch date. Determined un-viable. Removed from
nest. Adults no longer at nest during PM overflight.
505 & 415
Discovered April 1
Nest failed. 2 eggs collected April 6, taken to
ICF. 1 egg hatched.
310 & W601*
April 3
Nest failed. 1 egg collected April 9, taken to
ICF.
303* & 317
April 2
Nest failed. 2 eggs collected April 12, taken to
ICF and transferred to PWRC. Both hatched.
Re-nest May 2-3
Nest failed. 1 egg collected for transfer to
PWRC.
2nd re-nest May 11-12
√
June 7th AM flight: Nest was being incubated.
second adult flew in. Nest exchange observed. 2 eggs seen.
313* & 318
April 5
Nest failed. April 11-12
212 & 419*
Discovered April 5
Nest failed. April 14. 2 eggs determined infertile
Re-nest May 9-11
possible
unknown. 30 miles northeast of refuge prohibits frequent
aircraft checks.
309* & 403
April 2-5
Nest failed April 11
Re-nest April 30
√
Hatched 2 chicks May 31st. June 6th AM flight: Both chicks
observed being attended to by both parents. June 7th AM flight: Chicks were not seen on first pass, both adults were very close to nest.
Returned 20-30 minutes later and saw one chick with parents in same location, near nest.
June 7th PM flight: still only 1 chick visible. (Photo below)
213 & 218*
April 2-5
Nest failed April 12. No eggs.
Re-nest May 8
√
June 7th PM flight: Nest was being incubated. 1 egg seen on
previous flights
401 & 508*
April 4
Nest failed April 7th. 1 egg collected. Taken to ICF
D527* & 412
May 10-15
√
June 7th AM and early PM flights. Nest was being incubated.
408 & 519*
April 4
Nest failed. 2 eggs collected April 9. Taken to ICF.
Above: Adults 309* & 403 tend to their single chick on
June 7th. The pair hatched two chicks on Memorial Day.
I have the two best jobs in the world. The first is as a faculty member, where I have the privilege of teaching very bright engineering students, advising graduate students on their research, doing research on sustainability and engineering, and working to incorporate sustainability across our curriculum, all while serving as a role model for women in engineering and science. Two of the many freedoms of being a faculty member are that I can set my own hours and I can work remotely if I don’t have a specific need to be on campus. These freedoms are what allowed me to take my other best job as an OM intern.
Chick season starts about 6 weeks before our spring term ends, so I devised a clever plan to allow me to do both of the best jobs in the world. I started at Patuxent the week after Mother’s Day. In preparation, I crammed all of my on-campus responsibilities into 3 days a week so I could spend long weekends working with my babies. My routine is to get up before dawn on Friday mornings and drive the 2½ hours to Patuxent, where I spend 4 days with my crane “kids.” I do the rest of my academic work in the evenings. Monday night I drive home to get ready for work Tuesday morning. Then I work at my academic job Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, where I interact with my student “kids”, finishing just in time to leave again Friday morning.
“Are you crazy?” I hear this frequently when people learn about my avocation, but especially when they hear about my current schedule. There have been a few days recently where I have pondered this question myself, and the past week brought me many occasions where I doubted my ability to keep up the pace – at least with my sanity intact. It was especially tough Friday morning when the alarm went off at 4:45. I longed to stay in bed and I actually hit the snooze several times before I mustered the will to get out of bed.
I arrived at Patuxent just in time for cleaning pens. I caught a glimpse of one of my babies as they were locked outside for cleaning. I scooped poop, filled feeders, and mopped the floors, still wondering if I could keep up the pace. When we were done, Barb asked me and Geoff to walk 6, 8, and 9 together. I found a puppet and a vocalizer, put on my costume and headed outside. I opened the latch to 8’s door and then went down the aisle to let 9 out. 9’s head came up as the door opened and he chirped at me – the happy little trill – and then came running towards me. As we exited his pen, he did a happy dance, stretched out his wings and took off running. 8 was chirping too and I opened his door after 9 went by and the three of us walked out to meet Geoff where he was waiting with 6. We spent a blissful 20 minutes in the farm pond field, walking back and forth in the shade, watching our kids running around exploring their world. Periodically one would stop to forage while the rest of us kept going. A few moments later, it would look up, see us ahead, stretch out those featherless wings and run like crazy to rejoin us. I listened to the sounds in the meadow, punctuated with the peeps and trills from the chicks, and breathed deeply. I marveled at how big they had gotten during the few days I was gone. How could I possibly miss this?
On Friday I will attend commencement and watch my other “kids” graduate. I will personally hood my two graduating Ph.D. students and marvel at their intellectual growth, and be proud of their persistence and motivation in pursuing such a challenge. How could I possibly miss that?
“Are you crazy?” Absolutely. And brimming with pride over both species of kids. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Date:
June 7, 2010
Reporter:
Liz Condie
Subject:
BE ON THE
LOOKOUT (BOLO)
Location:
Main Office
The June issue of
THE BIRDING COMMUNITY E-BULLETIN noted that they had been specifically
asked by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), “….to
spread the word about one aspect of the current BP oil issue.”
“Birders have a special opportunity to ‘be on the lookout’ (BOLO) for oil
slicks and oiled birds outside the area of direct impact. Pelagic birders
and folks watching shorebirds might even take photos and make reports of
oiled birds from as wide an area as possible, not just in the Gulf area, but
along Atlantic Coast as well.
According to USFWS, "Even anecdotal reports will help to determine
the extent of oiling geographically. It would be particularly significant if
any oiled birds or remote slicks were observed in the Gulf Stream."
The US Fish and Wildlife Service advised that oiled wildlife should be
reported to a BP hot line set up for this purpose. The number to call is
1-866-557-1401.
Date:
June 6, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
MORTALITIES
Location:
Main Office
Dr. Richard Urbanek advised that yesterday International Crane
Foundation Tracking Intern Matt Strausser and Operation Migration pilot Richard van Heuvelen discovered the decomposed carcass of adult male whooping crane no.
709 in a jack pine woodland 1 mile south of the southeastern Necedah NWR boundary.
The area was not crane habitat, and no. 709 may have dropped while airborne. No.
709 was last observed alive on May 22nd and was apparently dead by May 24th, the next date when his mate no.
717 was observed alone. The remains will be forwarded to the National Wildlife Health
Center, Madison, Wisconsin, for necropsy.
Nos. 709 and 717 had remained together since they were members of the same juvenile cohort. They had a history of sporadic inadequate human avoidance, but none of these problems were documented during the current spring. The two birds were old enough to become a possible breeding pair in 2010; however, they did not establish a territory. The estimated maximum size of the eastern migratory population of whooping cranes is now 101 birds (57 males, 44 females).
We also received word yesterday that chick no. 1012 died as a result of
persistent respiratory issues.
Date:
June 4, 2010
Reporter:
Christine Barnes
Subject:
When is Enough, Enough?
Location:
Northfield, Vermont
The Greek and Roman Empires were legendary in their opulence and power. But
the Greek tragedies written at the time revealed an awareness about their
culture: characters in Greek tragedies usually had a hamartia, or fatal
flaw. Hubris, or pride, presumption and arrogance, was one of the chief
character traits which brought down peasants and emperors alike.
Have we
learned nothing? “It’s just human nature.” Our arrogance seems to be okay,
forgiven, passed off as acceptable, regardless of the consequences. How dare
we allow an oil rig in the fragile Gulf of Mexico to exist with no failsafe
to prevent a catastrophic event? When is ‘NO’ to the plan for more coal
mines, more oil rigs, not loud enough? The money to build these destructive
facilities, where too many people die every year, is desperately needed to
fund creative solutions to our energy crisis.
How is it that financial institutions in this country can bring us to our
knees, peering over the edge of the precipice, as close to the brink of
economic disaster as we dare to imagine, as we were in the 1930s? Must we
regulate everything, because ‘human nature’, in its avarice, is predictably
not trust-worthy? Whatever happened to being ‘my brother’s keeper’?
How many destroyed lives do we have to witness before we harness the
destructive traits of greed, arrogance and self-centered lack of concern for
others and the greater good of our planet? People are already without homes,
jobs, and now an entire fishing industry is going under - all because we
seem unable to make any substantial personal sacrifice, or to demand that
action be taken to save us from ourselves. The ensuing destruction of these
coastal wetlands will result in a domino-effect, consequences we will feel
as a nation for decades to come.
For 80 years, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast in
northern Florida has been a source of hope and restoration. People who visit
seem to understand its mission in the big environmental picture. They see it
as a safe haven for themselves, for wildlife. Now the refuge and its wild
population lie in the path of millions of gallons of oil, oozing their
deadly suffocating way into the waters and wetlands.
The refuge serves thousands of migrating birds each year, is home to
countless wild residents, from alligators to salamanders, from Monarch
butterflies to Gopher Tortoises. It serves as a nursery for invertebrates,
fish and crustaceans that feed humans and animals alike. The refuge is one
of the two migration destinations for the Whooping Crane Recovery Project.
My husband and I have worked at St. Marks for three consecutive winters as
resident volunteers: we mourn the impending loss of wildlife about to be
engulfed by this disaster.
It is deeply painful to watch this polarized country bicker over its
responsibilities to this planet and to each other. We are so blinded by
consumption, so unaware of the consequences of our irresponsible
over-population, so full of denial about the evidence that indicates that we
are in trouble – all because it’s too inconvenient to change: it’s someone
else’s problem.
The Greek and Roman Empires are gone. One has to wonder how much longer
we can sustain our own culture, given our willful disregard of the numerous
warning signals. The Copenhagen climate negotiations fell short of a global
consensus for action.
No one demanded that BP America place dead-sure shut-off valves on its
rig. Nuclear waste is a disaster waiting to happen. We can recycle, buy more
efficient cars, put up a couple of solar panels and a wind turbine. We can
put our money under our mattress instead of trusting Wall Street. But we
need so much more.
Some say we don’t need or want big government. But it’s clear that we do.
We need leadership and action, regulations and legislation. And we need them
now.
Note: In addition to being a freelance journalist, wildlife advocate,
and a committed environmentalist and conservationist, Christine, along with
husband Gordon, assist with monitoring of the ultralight-led 'Class of the
Year' wintering at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
Date:
June 3, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
GOING IN
CIRCLES
Location:
Main Office
OM intern extraordinaire Geoff Tarbox sent me a quick email update last night and reports that he and the rest of the crane ecology crew at Patuxent
have had 24 chicks hatch, but with the loss of #1007 to a respiratory
condition, they are
currently caring for 23 chicks. Now, it's important to remember that not all
of these 23 chicks are destined for the ultralight reintroduction - in fact
some will be delegated to other reintroduction methods, but they do need to
be cared for and tended to.
Initially, each chick is trained individually for approximately 20
minutes in the circle pen. This process involves leading the chick, using
the puppet head, from the propagation building, out to the circle pen. Once
at the pen, the chick is lead to the inside and then the handler will get
into position in the wingless ultralight, which is on the outside of the
pen. The puppet head is extended over the low fence which separates chick
from trike and prevents the young bird from accidentally getting under the
wheels of the aircraft.
The handler will then start the ultralight engine and slowly begin moving
it around the perimeter, while encouraging the chick inside the pen to
follow the puppet head, which dispenses mealworms from time-to-time. If all
goes well, it looks like this:
As time goes by and the chicks are adept at following the
trike as individuals, they are then trained in pairs. That's the stage that
some of the older chicks are at now. Numbers 1001 and 1002 are currently
training together, as are 1003 and 1004, 1005 and 1006, 1008 and 1009, 1010
and 1011, and finally 1012 and 1013.
Geoff reports that the youngest chicks, including 1014, 1015
haven't even begun circle pen training but have passed the "start/stop"
trike test, so should begin very soon, possibly even today.
Date:
June 2, 2010
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
BLACK FLY COUNTS
Location:
Main Office
Jeb Barzen, Director of Field Ecology with the International Crane
Foundation has
been conducting black fly sampling at several locations in the southern
portion of Wisconsin every two weeks for the past few months. He recently
submitted results from the most recent sampling and I thought it would be
interesting to include them in the table below to compare numbers.
Location
April 28
May 15
May 27
Mud Lake
50 - 80
0
<10
ICF
2
1
0
WI River
75-100
30 - 50
150
Necedah
7,000 - 10,000
2,000 - 3,000
15
Schoenberg
15 - 25
10 - 20
<10
Briggsville
10 - 20
20 - 40
20
Horicon
10 - 20
30 - 60
1
Poygan (Wolf River)
10 - 20
5 - 10
0
Date:
May 31, 2010 - Entry 2
Reporter:
Heather Ray
Subject:
THIS NEWS JUST IN!!
Location:
Main Office
Adult Whooping cranes 309* and 403 have successfully hatched
TWINS!!!
Operation Migration pilots have been flying reconnaissance flights over
the refuge whenever weather permits since the beginning of the nesting
season. During each flight details are gathered on the location of one or
both birds in each nesting pair, and submitted to the nest monitoring team.
Richard van Heuvelen just called with the fantastic news and reported that he was unable to fly over the refuge last night or this morning due to rain but
did get airborne at lunchtime today when he spotted both chicks with their
parents. During yesterday's noon-hour flight, one bird was still sitting on the nest.
This leads us to believe that one chick hatched out late yesterday and its
sibling very likely hatched this morning. Richard also stated that both parents appear to be tending to the chicks
and that he'll attempt to capture some images soon.
UPDATE: As promised here's a photo showing both chicks and one parent,
still at the nest. (click image for larger view)
Those of you who have been supporting our work and following along since
2003 may recall that #309 has had quite travel itinerary. You can read about
her travels and subsequent capture and relocation
here.
Congratulations to the entire Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership!
4-10
and 11-10's almost 1,000 mile road trip from Laurel, MD to Necedah, WI ended
today when they arrived at the refuge around 6:30am. Both have been
ensconced in the same pen as their Cohort mates - #4 with Cohort 1 and #11
with Cohort 2, but both fencing separates them from the other birds until
the crew can be sure they will all 'play nice' together.
As
faithful Field Journal readers will know, just two of the season’s seven
wild-hatched chicks still survive. While that number is not what we
were wishing for, the positive outcome of the season remains the record
nesting successes.
The
next day we trained the chicks at the Canfield site with the ground trike
and they did great. The huge military tent/ refuge blind overlooking the
site did not do as well having been blown down and shredded during the
storm. But the refuge staff located a new one, and were soon performing an
'out with the old -in with the new' dance while we stood in the pen calming
the chicks.
It
was about then that the water began to rise, and rise, and rise...until the
pen and 80% of the runway were under water. In the midst of this, my cell
phone began ringing. It was Noah asking me what time he could sail his ark
in and pick up the chicks. Funny guy, that Noah. A real Jerk! Robert and
transformed our costumes into genuine deep sea diving apparel and
re-configured the hot wire around the pen before leaving for the night.
At
first they jumped around excitedly in their new found freedom, so Robert and
I knelt down and soon the birds, except the ever energetic #10, dropped down
next to us, folded their heads back into their wings. Before long their
bodies were heaving in deep regular breaths as they slept the sleep of the
dead. Even whooper chicks sleep better at the beach.
Friday
morning, Robert and Brooke took the chicks out, not for training, not for a
swim, but for a nap on the dry part of the runway. According to their
report, 15, 16, and 17 got to dry land, heaved a sigh of relief, and conked
out. #10 is a little older, and she foraged around, apparently not tired
enough for a nap.
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W6-10
was last seen alive with its male parent 12-04 on July 3rd. When 12-04 was
observed on July 6th it was without the chick. W7-10 was also last seen in
the early morning of July 3rd, and it too was no longer in evidence when
checked on July 6th. Parents 17-03 & 3-03*and their chick W4-10 frequented
Pool 13 on the Necedah NWR. Twin chick W5-10 disappeared mid June.
The
Richter’s, (Dale and Karen) of Leesburg, Georgia are justifiably proud of
son Taylor.
Cage
Man is the creation of Patuxent’s very own Brian Clauss, who one day after
suffering a bout of heat stroke while sitting in the White Series pen
socializing a cohort of chicks, arrived at a point in his life where art
intersected utility, form collided head on with function, ingenuity trumped
heat prostration, and where all that had been difficult became easy.
Continuing her Mother’s Day tradition of several years, Illinois Craniac Vi
White once again conducted her fundraising Whooperthon. As in the past,
joining Vi for her day of birding were daughters Ellen Savage and Lynn
O’Connor. The 2010 version of Vi’s Whooperthon took place on May 14, a
clear, sunny, but windy day that following days of rain had left them
wondering about their chances of pulling it off.
The
first cohort of the Class of 2010 has been getting a preview of their
soon-to-be life on the
