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Date:
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June 27th, 2005 |
Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
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Location:
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Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Activity:
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Socializing the chicks.
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Notes: We are still rolling right along here at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, despite training being mostly rained out today. It is getting close to the second ship date, which will be on July 6th. Our social groups are shaping up nicely and training is going well. Over the last few days we have been working on getting this second cohort into one big group. With all of the strong personalities and the large age spread it has been rather challenging. 508, 509 and 513 seem to have reached an understanding with 513, who is in charge. 510, 511, and 512 have been getting along nicely, with 512 having to assert his dominance only every now and then. We have also been trying to get 515 and 516 into this "510, 511, 512" group so that they might possibly join the next shipment. These five birds have been walking together and Sunday we took all eight out to the White Series pond pens. We put the group of five in one pen and the three older dudes next door so that they could just look at each other on the first day. They looked… and really didn't seem to care too much. The first step is always small, but still very important.
Unfortunately, we have had some trouble this last week as well. We are a little worried about some of our chicks' health and whether or not those birds will be able to make the trip. 513 has had a swollen face and mouth which has caused the bill to grow incorrectly. At the moment he is able to follow and train and forage just fine, but we don't know how bad the bill will get. 514 has had a broken toe for a few days and has fallen and cracked some ribs now as well. This poor guy has missed training and socializing walks for about a week now. We are treating both of these birds and watching them carefully with the hope that they will be joining us in WI. 523 is getting over the respiratory trouble it has had for so long and is doing well enough to have treatments reduced. 526 has recently developed a small problem that has kept it inside the last two days but he is recovering quickly and may be able to go out later today. Other than that, and a few very minor leg issues, we are looking pretty good health-wise.
Our two groups of little guys are still doing just fine. At the Circle Pen, 519, 521, 522, and 523 are still pretty cute running in their tight little pack. 521 is still in charge and has actually been becoming increasingly aggressive the last few days. We are watching this guy closely because he likes to pick on 522 and 523 in particular. 523 is already the smallest and a little timid and does not need any help being isolated from the group. 520 and 524 have been getting bored easily at the circle and spend more time foraging than following, but that could pass by tomorrow morning… hopefully.
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Date:
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June 24th, 2005 |
Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
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Location:
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USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Activity:
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Chick update
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Notes: Another week and I am just managing to get to the computer. Things are going pretty well here at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC). We have all of the birds in groups and they are training well. 513 is still an aggressive pain, but I think that things are getting worked out between him and 508 and 509. 508 had also been a highly aggressive bird, but she seems to have grown out of it and is allowing 513 to dominate this group of our oldest birds. 508 and 509 have been getting along for about a week or two and we have very slowly and painfully been trying 513 with them. We could not try him with any other group because all were too small and submissive. Today we trained these three together for the first time at the half moon field and it went surprisingly well. 513 throws a few quick pecks at the beginning of each training session to make sure everyone knows who is in charge, but that is about it. Though the integration isn't finished yet, we are pleased with this progress. (See photos)
519, 521, 522, and 523 are still doing well together at the circle pen. These guys are hilarious. They run in a tight little bunch in the circle. They are constantly knocking into each other and a couple of them really compete to be the closest to the trike. After a few minutes, they will start getting tired and hot, or just lazy, and break up a little. There is usually a bird in every group that will linger behind and forage on its own. For a long time, I thought that 519 was that bird. Lately, however, each bird has been taking a turn at this "lagging" behavior, (as we call it in our records).
520 and 526 are doing very well training at the circle pen. 515 and 516 have recently graduated to the half moon field and are doing well out there. They also had their first walk out to the white series pond pens this morning. (See photos) |
Date:
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June 24th, 2005 |
Reporter:
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Joe DUff
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Location:
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Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
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Activity:
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Chick update from Necedah
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Notes: With temperatures in the mid 90's, it feels like the dog days of summer, even though it is only June. The ticks are almost as plentiful as the deer flies, but the mosquito season was short-lived. We count our blessings.
Most of the preparations have been completed for the transport of cranes from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, but the shipment of the second cohort has been delayed until July 6th. For now, therefore, we have little to do. Brooke Pennypacker is here, along with Robert Doyle from Patuxent, and our new pilot Chris Gullikson. Consequently, we have many years of experience, and a lot of talent, for only six birds.
There are three types of people needed to conduct a normal training session: aviculturists, pilots, and handlers.
Because physical symptoms draw the attention of predators, birds have a powerful ability to mask illness. For this reason, an experienced aviculturist is a critical team member. He/She can identify telltale signs that might indicate a health problem in one of the birds.
Along the same lines, our pilots are adept at spotting the traits that lead to undesirable behaviour in the birds. For instance, a trained eye can see that a chick reluctant to join us is not necessarily afraid of the aircraft, but may simply be gate-shy.
Handlers are the third necessary element to training. Handlers help move the young cranes from place to place while fending off the older cranes that are attracted to the activity.
While at Patuxent, the Whooping cranes are trained using an aircraft that has had its wing removed. This allows us to exercise the birds daily, regardless of wind conditions. With 22 birds that must be trained every day, it is important that we not be limited by the weather. Once a cohort arrives in Wisconsin, we begin training without the wing so that everything in the young cranes' world is not changing all at once.
On the first day of training, we delivered the aircraft to the site on a trailer and pushed it to the pen. We let the birds out and they were eager to explore. We started the trike and they dutifully followed, insecure about their wide-open surroundings. On day two, we used a different method, taxiing the trike to the pen. The noise of the approaching engine, though familiar, was too much for number 502 and she would not come out of the pen. She pushed against the back fence as the others tentatively came out the gate. We shut off the engine and spent 10 minutes coaxing her out. Once the engine was started again, and we began to taxi, she headed for the protection of the tall grass. Torn between hiding and following, she ran through the scrub brush, parallel to the runway, as the trike and the rest of the flock headed north. Once we reached the end of the training strip, we stopped and began foraging for meal worms. Number 502 headed deeper into the marsh. Unafraid of the aircraft, but ever adventurous, number 501 began to wander off to see what number 502 had found. I abided by an old adage and abandoned the two birds in the bush for the four birds in hand and headed back to the pen.
Once we had coaxed, cajoled, and corralled number 502 back to the pen, we spent the better part of an hour foraging for treats around the aircraft. The birds and I poked the propeller, flicked the antenna, and generally kicked the tires until all the scariness was out of it. For the rest of the day, we replaced the heavy wooden gates with a wire mesh panel, Afterward, we parked the trike right outside. This gave the flock a view of the aircraft and lessened its mystique. This process was repeated the next day, and on the fourth day, number 502 was the first bird out of the pen and first in line to run beside the aircraft. We had proven that, if you can identify potential behavioural problems early, they are usually easy to fix.
Adults 101 and 202 have a territory next to the north training site and have been there for most of the spring. We became the intruders and they let us know they were not happy about our presence. Lately they have been keeping their distance, which may be a sign that they are beginning to molt. This would give us a two or three-week break in their avian assault. In that time, the handlers, trikes, and chicks will become well-established on this territory.
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Date:
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June 18th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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Location:
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Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
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Activity:
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Crane update
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Notes: The integrity of the captive breeding
flock is maintained by ensuring that it has a
complete representation of all the genetic material
available, and, to that end, it was decided that
several females would be held back rather than be
shipped to Necedah. The gender is determined by
analyzing a portion of the egg membrane, but it
takes time to get this information back, and in the
interim, all of the chicks are trained with the
aircraft. We recently found out that numbers 18 and
25 are female and are therefore destined to be
captive breeders. That leaves us 22 birds for this
season.
Each bird is assigned a number when hatched that
indicates year, species and other information. When
birds are pulled for holdbacks or illness we end up
with numbers missing from our list of birds.
Number 504 died of scoliosis recently so six
birds, numbers 501 to 507, were shipped to Necedah
on June 15. Numbers 508, 509, 510 , 511, 512, 513
and 514, (seven birds), will be sent to Wisconsin
on or around July 6. Another nine birds, numbers
515, 516, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524 and 526,
will arrive around July 13.
Since there was concern about numbers 515 and
516 being too small for the July 6 shipment, the
Patuxent team suggested moving them to the last
shipment. Because numbers 518 and 525 are being
held back for breeding, there are two open spaces
on the last shipment for numbers 515 and 516.
The challenge of fundraising
Two weeks ago, with the help of many people, we
held a combination Fly-In, Art Show and Birding
Event in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The City of
Tullahoma supported this event along with the
Tullahoma Airport Authority.
Dan Hicks and others from the Tennessee Wildlife
Resources Agency manned their display all weekend.
George Archibald from the International Crane
Foundation gave a presentation. Bill Lishman
brought his original Easy Riser aircraft and Mike
and Sandy Loehle displayed their collections of
stunning WWII replica kit-built aircraft. Vickie
Henderson, long time supporter of OM, showcased her
artwork along with Gene Canning from Canada.
Richard Van Heuvelen is one of our lead pilots and
a respected and accomplished sculptor, brought
several pieces of his work to display. He also flew
one of our trikes at the event. Lynn Bales, Paul
James and Patty Brown from Ijams Nature Center came
out to join us along with Walter Sturgeon from the
Whooping Crane Conservation Association and Sara
Zimorski from the International Crane Foundation.
Several ultralight pilots showed up plus a lot
of old friends like Don and Paula Lounsbury (top
cover pilots) and Tom Pelfry (Tennessee stop-over
owner). Tim Tucker and his wife Deb spent the whole
weekend giving flights in his trike and donated all
the money to OM. Chris Mahoney was on her feet all
weekend doing everything from taking tickets to
selling "T" shirts and generally promoting this
project. In the end, the event, which was not
well-attended, did not generate money for the
project, but, as always, we found a great deal of
support in Tennessee.
We want to thank everyone involved for all the
support and hard work, including all those that
drove long distances to be with us. We laid the
ground work this year for a bigger and better event
next year, but it is a big job and we are a small
organization. We will see how it pans out.
If you have the means to contribute to Operation
Migration you may do so by clicking
here to contribute online. You may also
contribute over the phone by calling our office at
1-800-675-2618.
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Date:
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Friday 17 June 05
|
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Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
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Location:
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USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Activity:
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Chick update
|
|
Notes: We have been getting the birds together
into groups the last few days. 519, 521, and 522
have been doing well together. There is neither
much aggression nor dominance play in this group.
520, 524, and 526 are also getting along. 524 and
526 challenge each other, but it rarely goes too
far. Unfortunately, we have removed 510 from her
group with 508 and 509. 508 proved to be too
aggressive for her. We will have to try her with
511, 512, and 514, all of which are still doing
well, and are training at the half-moon field now.
This group is more easy-going and will hopefully be
a better fit for this little girl. Numbers 508-514
are all going to be together in the next shipment
of birds from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center to
Necedah. 515 and 516 are still doing well and have
been bumped back into the third shipment. These two
are going to be too small for the second shipping
date.
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Date:
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June 15th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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Location:
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Necedah, Wisconsin
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Activity:
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First cohort of the Class of 2005 delivered to
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.
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Notes: At 12:20 PM the first of the class of
2005 arrived at Necedah.
In all we expect to train up to 23 birds this
season, and the first cohort arrived today. The
Cessna Caravan (turbo-prop 10 passenger) aircraft,
generously provided by Windway Capital, landed at
Baltimore Airport yesterday afternoon in
preparation for this morning's flight. BWI Airport
is only minutes from Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center, and apart from a
quick fuel stop in Sheboygan, they flew directly to
the little airport in the town of Necedah, five
miles from the pen site. Due to the age spread of
the flock we will have to make 3 shipments again
this year. Windway Capital makes this all possible
and has from the beginning. Because of their
generosity the birds undergo much less stress than
shipping by truck or through a commercial carrier.
In fact if it were not for the support of Windway
this project would not be possible.
Patuxent recently acquired an endoscopic unit,
and they are now able to remove ingested foreign
objects from the birds before they depart Maryland.
In the past we would offload the bird crates from
the aircraft and move them to the annex on the
refuge. While still in their containers, the birds
were weighed and x-rayed to ensure they had not
ingested anything abnormal. Patuxent is an older
facility and despite diligence on the part of the
team, there is still the odd nail or screw that is
missed by the metal detectors and the magnetic
sweepers. Whooping crane forage almost constantly,
probing at this, pulling on that, and poking at the
other thing. It is inevitable that they will find
whatever was lost a few inches below the surface.
This is called "hardware disease," and last year at
least one bird in every cohort we shipped had
swallowed something. There exists a friendly
rivalry between Patuxent and ICF, and during the
last examination I could not understand why Barry
Hartup, veterinarian from the International Crane
Foundation, was so adamant about ushering me out of
the exam room. Once alone, the health team emptied
the contents of the junk drawer into the x-ray
plate before exposing it. The next day, in their
report they circulated an x-ray image of a Whooping
crane that looked for all the world like he had
spent his life in an auto wrecking yard.
Silhouetted over the black and white image of a
healthy Whooping crane chick was everything from a
bent nail to a door hinge.
All six of our new arrivals came through the
shipment with flying colours, and we will give them
a few days to orient and recover before we resume
their training. We will start with the wing removed
from one of the aircraft, so we are not changing
too much at one time. Later on we will add the
wing, and spend many hours getting the birds used
to the new appendage.
Chris Gullikson, our new pilot, arrived last
Monday. He was eager to help but there wasn't much
to do. Richard Van Heuvelen has been here since
June 1st, and as I expected, he accomplished most
of what needed to be done. We have two more sites
to prepare, and the next shipment is tentatively
booked for June 28. Our last group should arrive
sometime around July 13.
John Thompton (new intern with OM) also arrived
this week and Robert Doyle (aviculturist from
Patuxent) is here as well.
The three birds 401, 407 and 408 that took off
last week and flew to Minnesota are back on the
refuge, indicating that the westward excursion was
just as we suspected &endash; fun.
In order to accomplish this study, the US
Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, had to
enact a provision within the Endangered Species Act
that designates our flock of Whooping cranes as
experimental, nonessential. This means they have
the status of a threatened species. The seven
direct-line states through which we pass agreed to
cooperate, along with 13 others states and two
Canadian provinces into which the birds may
disperse. Number 309 has made it a personal mission
to visit all of these States as an ambassador for
the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. She spent
her first summer in Michigan and wintered in North
Carolina after a brief visit to South Carolina.
This past spring she dropped in on Ohio and New
York before crossing the border into Ontario.
Recently, she has been confirmed in Addison County,
Vermont. There is some evidence that our birds
seldom wander much farther north than the
introduction area and they may have some knowledge
of their latitude. This may be a clue to their
navigation ability. It is interesting to note that
Necedah, as well as the location 309 used her first
summer in Michigan, and Gananoque in Ontario, and
where she is now in Vermont, are all on roughly the
same latitude. It seems she still has not settled
down for the summer, so rather than attempt to
capture her where she is, the Tracking Team plans
to set up a pen in Wyoming. It's only a matter of
time before she shows up there.
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Date:
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June 11th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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Activity:
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You can always rely on Whooping cranes to make
you humble.
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Notes: I have been flying for the better part of
30 years but these avian masters of flight can
outperform us their first time airborne. It takes
us 2 months to lead them south on their first
migration but they can make the return trip in less
than a week. Now, just when we thought we knew it
all, and we predicted that the spring wandering was
over for the season, numbers 401, 407 and 408 took
off - and flew to Minnesota.
No one knows what motivates these
peregrinations; the birds simply take to the air
without fanfare or finite destination. Rising air
carries them aloft and there is ample food wherever
they choose to land. They pay no heed to border or
restricted airspace and their time is measured in
seasons. Maybe it's nothing more complicated than
fun and, in reality, what better reason to fly?
Number 309 was last reported near Gananoque in
eastern Ontario on May 9, but was confirmed last
Friday in Addison County, Vermont. Now that she is
back in the US, the Tracking Team may reconsider
the option of capture and returning her to
Wisconsin. That is if she stays in one place long
enough. In reality, Necedah was our choice for a
reintroduction but may not be hers.
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Date:
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June 8th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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Activity:
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General Whooping Crane News
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Notes: Fifty-four nesting pairs of Whooping
cranes have been counted in Wood
Buffalo National Park by Brian Johns of the
Canadian
Wildlife Service and they are beginning to
expand their range. Whooping cranes are territorial
and the population has now grown to the point where
they have moved out of the park. Brian reported
that each nesting pair requires up to 4.5 square
kilometers as a nesting territory and they defend
it against all others. This is the first time birds
have spread out into adjoining wetlands
The Calgary
Zoo in Alberta, Canada, recently announced that
their first artificial insemination (AI) Whooping
crane chick has hatched. This is a technique used
by captive breeding centers to manipulate the
genetics of the flock. Often a pair of birds will
bond and breed properly but may not be genetically
suited. On the other hand, birds that should be
bred, to increase the diversity of the population,
may not get along. This difficult method of
assuring the pedigree of the offspring has been
accomplished at other breeding centers, but this is
a first for Canada and the Calgary Zoo.
Mark Nipper has been keeping count for us of the
eggs that hatch at Patuxent and their fate. We are
currently training 23 birds in preparation for
shipment to Necedah. A few have been pulled from
the migration program and will be added to the
captive flock. These birds are genetically
important. Many people have asked why these birds
are being held back, so I offer the following
explanation (please keep in mind that I'm not a
geneticist):
All of the Whooping cranes that exist are
descendants of birds hatched in Wood
Buffalo National Park in Canada. Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center was the first captive
Whooping crane breeding center in North America and
their original eggs came from that flock. Since
then, Parks Canada, similar to the National Park
Service in the U.S., has prohibited egg collection
because there is some evidence it can hamper the
population growth of the western migratory
population of Whooping cranes. The bottleneck that
took place in the early 40's, when only 15 birds
existed, left little genetic diversity for the
Whooping crane and their reproduction has been
closely monitored ever since.
Each of the six propagation centers uses a
number of reproduction methods, like natural pair
bonding, egg swapping, and artificial insemination
(AI) to increase the number and quality of birds.
In fact, these breeding procedures are so
controlled that it is likely that there is more
diversity in the captive flock than in the wild
flocks where the birds themselves select mates to
reproduce. In other words, there is a small
possibility that the wild flock may homogenize over
time, like putting too much salt in the
soup. This makes the
captive flock very important to the survival of the
species.
The Whooping Crane Recovery Team maintains a
study book and uses DNA identification to document
all of the chicks produced in captivity. Some birds
are more productive than others and therefore their
bloodline is over-represented within the
population. Others do not produce many chicks or
are too young to breed successfully making their
offspring genetically significant. The Recovery
Team would like to increase the number of birds in
captive flocks by as many as 56 birds over a period
of years. This would ensure a complete
representation of the all genetic material
available and allow them to continue producing
viable chicks for release into the wild.
Our first shipment of 6 crane chicks will arrive
in Necedah on June 15th. The transport aircraft,
courtesy of Windway Capital, will fly to Baltimore
on Tuesday in preparation for the early morning
flight. The early departure will ensure cool
temperatures and reduced stress during the loading
process. The cranes should arrive around noon at
the Necedah Airport, which is only 5 miles from the
training pens. The next shipment is tentatively
scheduled for June 28, and the final for around
July 13.
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Date:
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June 6th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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|
Notes: First, let me apologize for my
delinquency. Keeping the website updated is an
obligation I really enjoy and take very seriously,
but it is only one of the balls I must juggle. This
responsibility lands firmly in my hand at least
once a week and, laden with guilt, I pass it to the
other and launch it back in the air. This website
is our main connection to most of our supporters
and it is an honour to be a spokesperson for the
birds you have helped to safeguard, but I must
either learn to write faster or become a better
juggler.
Mark Nipper has been accumulating accolades from
many of our readers for his reports from Patuxent
and I thank him for helping out. Those of us who
know Mark well were pleasantly surprised by his
eloquence compared to his normal, almost
indecipherable, emails
There are six Captive Propagation Centers around
the US and Canada and, during breeding season,
their curators meet by conference call once a week
to discuss the results of Whooping crane romance.
Some eggs are the product of natural pair bonding
but the need to safeguard critical genetic material
often means artificial insemination, egg swapping,
and incubators, making courtship more of a
formality. This reproduction season began slowly
and it looked for a while like we would only get 15
or 16 chicks, but, as Mark reports, things have
turned around and eggs are now hatching like
popcorn. Tom Stehn, co-chair of the Whooping Crane
recovery Team, predicts we will eventually ship 24
chicks to Necedah this season and the Supplemental
Release Team will start with 6 to 8 birds which
were initially raised at the International Crane
Foundation.
Richard Van Heuvelen is currently in Necedah
preparing for the arrival of the first cohort of
cranes. It looks like it may be a dry season, so,
with the extra lead time, he is organizing deeper
well points for the solar pumps used to provide
fresh water to the birds. Richard is one to those
self-motivators who sees what needs doing and takes
care of it. Although it was not my intention, I
suspect by the time the rest of us get there that
most everything will be completed.
Our administrator, Chris Danilko, produced the
following chart to help locate all of 43 white
birds in this population. Her original goal was to
help her keep track so she could answer the many
questions called into our office. Now it has turned
into a tool we all use so I thought we should share
it periodically with you.
WCEP
Whooping Crane Population Status
Week of May 22 to 28,
2005
|
|
|
Pairs /
Social Groups / Bachelor Cohorts
(Male
- Female)
|
Current
Location/ Notes
|
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Wisconsin
- 40 birds
|
|
101
|
202
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
102
|
107
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- 107 Not seen this week
|
|
105
|
204
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
201
|
306
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- (Nest building May 14)
|
|
203
|
317
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
205
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
208
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
209
|
302
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- 302 Possible molting
|
|
211
|
217
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
212
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
213
|
218
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
216
|
303
|
|
|
Wisconsin
-Seen mating May 26th
|
|
304
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
307
|
311
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
310
|
313
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
312
|
316
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
412
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
401
|
407
|
408
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
415
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- With sandhills
|
|
402
|
403
|
416
|
417
|
Wisconsin
|
|
419
|
420
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
418
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- With sandhills
|
|
Michigan
- 2 birds
|
|
301
|
318
|
|
|
Found
foraging in an alfalfa field in Lower
Michigan
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|
Ontario
- 1 bird
|
|
309
|
|
|
|
Last known
location Southeastern Ontario - Gananoque,
Leeds County on May 8th. She was noted
leaving that area.
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Location
details provided by the WCEP Tracking
Team. Dr. Richard Urbanek(USFWS), Lara
Fondow (ICF), Sara Zimorski (ICF)
|
|
Graph
prepared by Chris Danilko
|
A bird's instinct to migrate must be something
akin to adrenaline flowing through their veins.
They sit sedentary all winter and are suddenly
compelled to take to the air and cover 1200 miles
in short order. They target their summer range with
the exactitude of a marksman but once they arrive,
seem to suffer residual effects, wandering randomly
for a few weeks while the high wears off. With the
heat of summer, they again settle into a routine
and their limited movements become predictable. As
you can see from Chris's chart, we are approaching
that lazy summer season of hot sun and cool marshes
with no real need to go anywhere. Dr. Urbanek, as
head of the Tracking Team, reports the location of
each bird to the rest of the partnership once a
week and recently almost every entry begins with
"remained on or near its territory."
Now that the Tracking Team can finally catch
their breath, it is time to consider the birds that
did not make it back. There are still two in
Michigan that have not been back to Wisconsin since
the day we led them south. They spent their first
summer of freedom on the east side of Lake
Michigan, blocked from returning home by miles of
open water. Their migration south was also
off-course and they wintered in North Carolina.
Their spirit to migrate is intact, but whatever
mysterious mechanism they use to navigate has been
skewed to the east and they wandered into Ontario
earlier in the spring. One moved farther east while
two made it back to Michigan. The Tracking Team
will use an aircraft to locate them and make plans
to move them back to Wisconsin in an effort to
reorient them. The bird that was last seen in
eastern Ontario poses a more difficult problem.
Despite international cooperation, moving a
migratory bird across the US-Canada border involves
a lot of "red tape." Brian Johns of Canada Wildlife
Services will assist in tracking the bird, which
was last seen near Gananoque on the northeastern
shore of Lake Ontario. It is only a short hop over
the Saint Lawrence River - the boundary line
between Canada and the US. Maybe the bird will make
it easy on us by crossing into the US without our
help, but somehow I doubt it.
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Date:
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June 3rd, 2005
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Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
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Location:
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Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Activity:
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Chick update
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Notes: You know that saying about not putting
all of your eggs in one basket? Well, no one told
the cranes. We are up to #524
(the 24th bird to hatch in the class of 2005
migratory flock) with three more that should hatch
today. That makes nine new chicks in half as many
days. I thought things were as busy as they
possibly could be; but I guess I didn't have a
clue. All those little mouths have to be kept full
and every chick over five-days-old has to get
enough exercise, and don't forget training and the
hundred-sum odd adults to take care of. Luckily the
fantastic staff here at Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center is making it work by
pulling triple duty. Breaks are rare, lunches are
short and often on your feet, and we have
reorganized the schedule to cover the evenings.
There are four Operation Migration people here, but
nothing would get done without the skilled and
experienced Patuxent staff to coordinate the
efforts.
Numbers 511, 512, and 514 have been training
together and we are going to give #509 and #510 a
try in the circle pen. The old guys are in their
usual groups out at the white series and half-moon
field. The rest of the cranes are still singles at
the circle pen. Numbers 501-507 received their
pre-shipment health exams yesterday. It didn't
allow for much to get done but is just something
that we have to deal with. The birds receive a
physical exam, blood and fecal samples are taken,
they get a West Nile vaccine, we de-worm them, and
they all get their new big leg band. We give them a
larger color band now to help their adjustment when
it comes time to get their radio transmitters.
These guys ship out to Necedah on the fourteenth of
June. John Thomton leaves for Necedah this Monday
to head over ahead of time and get some much needed
time at home along the way.
It is pouring rain this morning and doesn't look
like it is going to stop any time soon so we
probably won't get much done until Sunday.
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Date:
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May 28th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
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Location:
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Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Activity:
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Chick Update
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Notes: We have had quite an addition to our new
flock. Quite a few additions I should say. Most of
the babies are doing pretty good. We do have one
big concern with #517. The bird was malpositioned
in the egg and had to be assisted to get out. The
other #517 made it out a few days ago and is a
genetic holdback because it is genetically valuable
as a breeding bird. If #518 is a female, it will be
held back as well.
We are trying to get some more groups formed up.
#511 and #512 walked together yesterday and had
#514 join them today. #514 was beat up by #513
yesterday, so we hoped it would do better with
these other two. It is a very scared little bird,
pretty much all of the time. We also have #509 and
#510 who did well together today. #501, 502, and
503 have begun training behind the trike at the
50-yard-long Half-moon Field this week. These birds
are also beginning to spend some time in the White
Series pens where our chicks are moved to when they
are 25 to 30-days-old. #505, 506, and 507 are still
training at the circle pen but are doing well and
will be moving out to the big field soon.
That's the extremely brief version. The past
week has been pretty nuts with so many chicks
popping out and I believe we have three more to go
this week.
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Date:
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May 20th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
|
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Activity:
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Chick update
|
|
Notes: It's finally raining here at the
Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center. We haven't had a
decent rain in over a month. We also have three new
babies over the last few days: 512 on May 16th, 513
on May 17th, and 514 on May 19th. 514 is from the
International
Crane Foundation egg that we received last
week. It is a pretty small chick but is active and
seems fine. 512 and 513 are doing fine as well. 510
has been of some concern though. This bird eats and
drinks all the time on its own but has not been
gaining weight or maintaining proper hydration.
We are starting to get a few troublesome birds.
504 and 503 have been consistently a pain in the
butt for about a week now. They start off great
during trike training, but then get distracted and
gradually pay less and less attention. These two
have been able to walk together in the afternoons,
but do not get along well enough to train together.
When they are in separate pens these two seem to be
buddies. They lie down in their pens next to each
other on either side of the fence and bask in the
warmth of their heat lamps.
Most of our chicks train independently with the
trike, but 505, 506, and 507 is still our only
group of birds behaved well enough that they can
train together. They are funny little birds.
Dominance in this group seems to change every day.
They follow the trike pretty well for most of the
time. 508 is doing much better in terms of being
less frightened of the trike, and 509 has had its
first training and did well.
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Date:
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May 18th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
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|
Activity:
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Spring Migration Update
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Notes: The last of the 2004 birds made it home
on May 16th. Number 418, the one bird to make it to
Florida without the aid of our aircraft, has
returned to Necedah
National Wildlife Refuge. For a while the team
was concerned when he stopped at an urban park in
metro Chicago. But he moved north into Washington
County and on Monday he landed in East Rynearson
Pool on the Refuge. Number 418 was removed from the
ultralight study when missing primary feathers
meant he was not able to keep up with the training
and his flockmates. Once his feathers regenerated
he was released with the older, experienced
Whooping cranes and he eventually followed several
different birds including Sandhill cranes to
Florida. He made the return trip alone. He was the
last to migrate and the last to return.
Chris Danilko developed this graph from
information supplied by the WCEP Tracking Team.
WCEP
Whooping Crane Population Status
Week of May 8 to 14,
2005
|
|
|
Pairs /
Social Groups / Bachelor Cohorts
(Male
- Female)
|
Current
Location
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
101
|
202
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
102
|
107
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
105
|
204
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
201
|
306
|
|
|
Wisconsin
- (Nest building May 14)
|
|
203
|
317
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
205
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
208
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
209
|
302
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
211
|
217
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
212
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
213
|
218
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
216
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
304
|
303
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
307
|
311
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
312
|
316
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
412
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
401
|
407
|
408
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
415
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
402
|
403
|
416
|
417
|
Wisconsin
|
|
419
|
420
|
|
|
Wisconsin
|
|
418
|
|
|
|
Wisconsin
(Completed Migration May 16)
|
|
Michigan
- 4 birds
|
|
310
|
313
|
|
|
South East
Michigan (last known location)
|
|
301
|
318
|
|
|
Possible
north shore of Lake Michigan
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|
Ontario
- 1 bird
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|
309
|
|
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South-eastern
Ontario - Leeds County on May 8th. Last
known location ( She was noted leaving
that area.)
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Location
details provided by the WCEP Tracking
Team. Dr. Richard Urbanek(USFWS), Lara
Fondow (ICF), Sara Zimorski (ICF)
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Graph
prepared by Chris Danilko
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Date:
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May 16th, 2005
|
|
Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
|
|
Activity:
|
Chick update
|
|
Notes: 510 hatched yesterday (see
photo) and 511 has hatched just this morning
right before lunch. 511 is a potential genetic hold
back for the captive breeding flock if it is a
female but for now needs the same care as the rest.
508 has been out to train the last couple days.
It is still pretty young and is quite scared of the
trike. 509 will go out to meet the trike today or
tomorrow. Both of these little birds are pretty
active in their pens; 508 has some hate in it, too.
Last night 508 and 504 were found fighting through
the plexi-glass that separates their pens. Their
food bowls were right next to each other and they
were fighting over them. 508 is about 5-7 inches
tall while 504 being quite a bit older, is around 2
feet tall. Birds that young can be violent enough
to take on full adults sometimes too. It is a great
example of the instinctual aggressiveness of these
chicks.
Training for the rest of the birds is coming
right along. 507 has been added to the 505/506
group (see
photos). The three of them get along pretty
well. 505 is slightly bigger than 506 and then 507
is obviously the smallest. 506 is the most
aggressive, but the dominance is hard to tell
during training. Just because 506 is starting
everything doesn't mean it is winning. With these
guys it isn't true fighting, though, it is usually
just bumping chests to see who is bigger. Neither
505 nor 507 cow down to 506 readily. This
afternoon, Angie and John took these guys for a
walk and John had the camera (see
photos).
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Date:
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May 12th, 2005
|
|
Reporter:
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Mark Nipper
|
|
Activity:
|
Chick update
|
|
Notes: We have two 508's and a 509 now, with
five more chicks due next week. The reason we have
two 508's is one is a genetically valuable bird
that will be held back for breeding purposes. It
comes from a pair here at Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center that has not previously laid any
eggs. The 508's hatched Sunday, May 5th and 509
hatched May 11th. The 8's were giving us a bit of a
scare for a couple days. They were not gaining
weight well and had to be tube fed. As of yesterday
they have made a comeback and are doing well.
Overall, the chicks this year have been really good
at learning the food and water routine, little 509
(see
photos) included… and yes, it is quite
cute.
Yesterday there was a successful transfer of two
eggs from the International Crane Foundation, in
Wisconsin, to our facility (Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center) here in Maryland. Many thanks go
to Nat Warning, who flew from Wisconsin with his
valuable carry-on.
Exercise is still moving right along with 501
& 502 (see
photos), and 505 and 506 (see
photos) as two groups we are able to walk and
train together. 501 is dominant over 502, who is a
very scared bird in general. Today in fact 501 was
a bit of a jerk during training. While at the
circle pen stage we stop occasionally to give
treats to the birds in the little inner-circle of
sand. (see
photos) This morning, after each of these brief
stops, 501 would chase after 502 as she came
running after me in the trike. I am not sure if 502
was following me or just running away from 501 but
it worked out well. So far 501 doesn't have the
"hate" (though she is getting close) and seems to
be just ensuring her dominance. 505 and 506 are
also playing the hierarchy game. They are just
seeing who is taller and bumping chests so far,
with little real aggression. 507 (see
photos) has been able to see the trike, but due
to maintenance work the last couple days, has not
been able to train just yet. Tomorrow we will see
how good this little one can do.
We also now have all three interns (see
photos) with the arrival of Angie Maxted. Angie
has recently graduated from Iowa State Veterinary
School and was able to get some crane vet
experience at the International Crane Foundation
(ICF) with Barry Hartup, the lead vet there. Last
year, during a brief stint at ICF, she made a few
trips up to Necedah to help us with our '04 flock.
She also has a variety of field experience with
different bird species.
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Date:
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May 12th, 2005
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Reporter:
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Joe Duff
|
|
Activity:
|
414 lost to a predator.
|
|
Notes: Yesterday the Tracking Team announced
that the remains of 414 were found in Juneau
County, Wisconsin. Feathers and bone were scattered
over a large area indicating a full size predator.
This unfortunately brings to 7 the number of
birds lost in the last year. It also brings many of
us to our knees.. We spend so much time nurturing
our birds, doggedly adhering to a restrictive
protocol, and despite our best attempts to think of
them as wild animals, we still become attached.
There is satisfaction in maintaining a
costume-rearing discipline and the entire team
takes pride in the fact that none have yet been
tamed. They avoid human environments preferring
natural habitat, and appear to be truly wild, but
wildness comes at a cost. The rules for the untamed
are harsh, and the consequences final. If we want
our birds to be wild we must accept that they face
real hazards.
Still the mortality is so high this year that we
can't help but become introspective and question
the methods we use to prepare them for release. It
may be time to give serious thought to developing
and instituting a predator avoidance protocol, or
at least become more adept at teaching them the
value of roosting in water sufficiently deep and
far enough from shore to keep them safe during the
night. There must be some way to keep them vigilant
and instil in them a natural fear of furry things
with teeth. The problem is that being surrogates,
we are at best, marginal parents.
Without being taught, our chicks somehow develop
a social structure as do wild birds, and
instinctively they understand the meaning of the
adult calls. We carry digital recorders to
broadcast these calls, but our repertoire is
limited, and our ability to use them appropriately
restricted. It's like teaching a foreign language
when you only know 6 words. If wild parents led
their chick too close to a danger area and were
attacked, they would take to the air and
immediately teaching their offspring to be
vigilant, what danger areas to avoid, and to take
flight at the first sign of trouble. If we set up a
similar scenario we could stage the approach of a
simulated predator and sound the alarm call but we
can't run fast enough to make an proper escape nor
can we get instantly airborne. And if this
replicated attack is not carried out with enough
vigour to seriously scare our charges, they might
simple stand in surprise and our imitation predator
would have no choice but to stop short of causing
injury. If you charge an enemy to frighten it off
and it doesn't run, what then? The lesson learned
by our chicks would be confusing at best and
tolerance to predators at the worst.
Over the course of the summer season our birds
learn to water roost in their overnight pens and we
keep it deep enough to teach the proper lessons.
However during the migration it is impossible to
find wetland sites with aircraft access at each
location so they are forced to roost on dry land.
They are protected by the pen but this experience
may teach complacency. We hope the lesson is
relearned during their stay at the release pen in
Florida, but last year that was a problem. Many
birds from previous years checked in on this pen
before moving on to better habitat. Their
interaction with the juveniles was often so
aggressive that the young birds were moved into a
top netted enclosure that had no provision for
water roosting. This experience may have led to
complacency, but that would not explain the death,
by predator, of older birds that by now should know
better.
What ever the cause it will keep us up at night
and you can be sure it will dominate the
discussions around the camp. We will try our
hardest of fix it, but maybe it is just the way of
things wild.
On a brighter note #418 has moved north. This is
the last of the 2004 birds to make it back to
Wisconsin after he made it to Florida without the
aid of our aircraft. Earlier this week we all held
our breath when he was reported in Washington Park
in metro Chicago. This urban recreational area is
very accessible by people, and 418 has a habit of
staying in one location for long periods.
Thankfully, he has now moved north and found a
safer area in Washington County, Wisconsin.
|
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Date:
|
May 6th, 2005
|
|
Reporter:
|
Mark Nipper
|
|
Location:
|
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
|
|
Activity:
|
Chick update
|
|
Notes: Two birds have been added to our flock.
506 hatched on May 2nd and then, while I was having
my weekend (a luxury of my time here at PWRC), 507
hatched out on May 4th. These two birds are cute as
can be, of course, and are doing pretty good.
Click
here to see photos of our 2005 chicks.
505 and 506 are eating and drinking on their
own. 507 is a little… well "crazy" is the only
way to put it. This little one runs around his pen
screaming more than anything else. The poor little
bird is healthy enough, it just needs time to calm
down a bit. Hopefully today is the day it calms
down as we have been getting it to eat and drink a
little more. There are always birds that are
scared, angry, or just plain nuts, but they all
figure it out eventually.
In other news, we found out the sexes for the
first six of our birds. 501, 502, and 504 are
females while 503, 505 and 506 are males. In order
to determine this we take a small sample of the
eggshell and membrane to send to a lab. We all like
to make guesses based on behavior, but it is never
for sure until we get the results back.
Earlier I reported that 504 had eye and
respiratory problems. Thankfully these problems
have cleared up and she appears fine!
Training is progressing for 502-504. Each of
these guys is spending 10-15 minutes with the trike
now. They are doing very well keeping up with the
trike and paying attention. 502 is still a little
more nervous than the others and 503 is still a
little more distracted, but everyone is getting
good scores. 501 has not been training for the last
few days due slight health problem that she is
quickly recovering from.
Charlie
Shafer (former International Crane Foundation
and Operation Migration intern, now Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center Biotech) has also been
getting high scores with the trike. We have been
getting him some time behind the wheel so we can
have more help with training.
|
|
Date:
|
May 5th, 2005
|
|
Reporter:
|
Joe Duff
|
|
Activity:
|
And then there were 44.
|
|
Notes: This has been a long, hard year for
Whooping cranes. It began last spring with a number
of health issues at Patuxent that eliminated five
birds from our study and then number 422 died in
the summer from blood loss caused by a broken leg.
During the migration number 406 succumbed to EEE
(Eastern Equine Encephalitis) at the last stopover.
Meanwhile one of the infamous Michigan birds was
lost over the summer and another of that group died
while they were near Cape Romain. Number 215 was
found dead in Alabama and 405 was taken by a bobcat
near the Chassahowitzka pen along with 214.
Now the Tracking Team have reported that 106 was
found dead on May 3rd in Jackson County, Wisconsin.
You will recall that this is the bird that was seen
pair bonding and copulating with a Sandhill crane.
Sometime between April 12th and 22nd this male had
injured its leg. Observation through a scope
indicated the tarsus was fractured below the hock
and it was not weight bearing. However the leg was
straight and the Health Team was confident it could
heal normally if the bird could survive. Many birds
will hunker down and hide when they become
flightless from moulting and this situation was
considered similar. Although the bird was not
roosting in water, letting it fend for itself and
heal naturally was considered much less risky than
capture, transport and treatment at a rehab center.
Only the head and neck were missing from the
carcass indicating a small predator. A necropsy
will be performed and we will keep you posted
No further nesting behaviour has been reported
from any of the known pairs however Dr Urbanek
suspects 105 and 204 may be nesting but his team
can't get close enough without disturbing the birds
so that's only speculation. Seven 2004 cranes have
now reached the core reintroduction area in
Wisconsin and completed the spring migration. That
means that 34 birds have at least dropped in to
visit the Necedah area. Six appear to still be in
Indiana or southern Wisconsin and satellite
tracking indicates that 418, the bird that migrated
without ultralight assistance, is in Fulton County
in north central Indiana. The three Michigan birds
(AKA South Carolina birds AKA Ontario birds) appear
to have split up. Two (301 and 318) were reported
at the very tip of the Bruce Peninsula which is a
spit of land that divides Georgian Bay from the
rest of Lake Huron. Now it appears they have made
the jump over open water and are in the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan. This is very god news and if
they keep going west they could eventually make it
home. On the other hand we just received a
unconfirmed report that the last member of this
notorious group has been sighted south west of
Montreal in the Province of Quebec. This report
comes with a fairly convincing picture of what
appears to be a Whooping crane in flight but no
bands are visible.
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