Photo Journals!
Wintering Whoopers |
Ultralight-guided
Migration |
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Whooper Happenings
Mark Chenoweth's latest audio podcast all about Whooping Cranes! |
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Operation
Migration is pleased to provide this link to Whooper
Happenings to its website visitors.
Mark Chenoweth, an OM supporter with a long history in
broadcast journalism, developed Whooper Happenings. In
addition to OM staffers and WCEP partners, Mark's podcasts
include interviews with various experts and lay people on
Whooping crane history, husbandry and reintroduction.
The
comments and
opinions expressed on Whooper Happenings are not necessarily
those of Operation Migration. |
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| Date: |
June
30th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Media Coverage |
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While
we do receive media calls and emails intermittently throughout
the year, it is at migration time that we attract the broadest
and heaviest media attention. The wild hatch of 211 and 217's
two chicks may make this year an exception to that rule
however. We've had interest from most major media outlets -
everyone from CNN, CBS, and ABC, to the New York Times and
discovery.com, and even a call from Japan.
We only wish we could turn all the attention into currency to
buy mealworms, aircraft fuel and netting! Nonetheless, we are
delighted at the prospect of this unprecedented
coverage raising the awareness of thousands of new
people to the plight of the Whooping crane - and who knows,
maybe it will bring a few new 'Craniacs' into the flock.
On another note - Your response to last
year's urgent email appeal was phenomenal, but because just
153 miles have been sponsored as of the end of June - the lowest
as of this date in the MileMaker program's history - we are
starting to have heart palpitations!
Wisconsin and Illinois Craniacs are the leading MileMakers so
far, sponsoring 53% and 21% of the migration miles in their
states. Florida is starting to catch up, but we are wondering
where our supporters from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and
Georgia are.
We can count on you......can't we?
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| Date: |
June
29th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Call to Action |
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The history making wild-hatch has
captured the attention of the press, including such major
outlets as CNN, CBS, ABC, and Discovery. These two little
chicks have already made a major contribution to the survival
of their counterparts by focusing the spotlight on Whooping
cranes, and opening the door for an untold number of
opportunities to increase awareness for the work being done to
safeguard the species.
We try to maximize and leverage every bit of media coverage we
get. To do this as effectively as possible we are asking for
your help.
Call to Action
If you see an article, commentary, or photo about this event,
about Whooping cranes, or about OM and/or WCEP, please clip it
and send it along to us. If the piece is in a newspaper,
please send the whole page so we will have the masthead and
the publication date.
And don't worry about us receiving duplicates. More often than
not someone says to us, "I would have cut it out and
mailed it to you but I thought lots of people would have
already sent it."
Between the two wild-hatchlings and little 602 we expect
greater than normal media interest this summer, and of course
that will really grow come migration time. We would really
appreciate receiving copies of any stories, photos, or news
coverage you spot - now and anytime.
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| Date: |
June
27th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Mark Nipper / Joe Duff |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Goodbyes |
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Mark's Message:
Well folks, my fifth and last season at PWRC has drawn
to a close and I will be moving on. Four years ago I was
finishing up college and looking every where for a job. I knew
I wanted to continue my studies, but I also knew that I needed
to work in the field to figure things out. My primary
interests have long been applied conservation, and the study
of how animals navigate and migrate. In the middle of my job
search, Dan Sprague from PWRC called. He told me about a group
of people who wore big, baggy white outfits to raise and teach
Whooping cranes to follow behind ultralight airplanes. By the
end of the call I was convinced, and accepted a position with
OM.
One of my greatest joys on the
project has come from our landowners/stopover hosts along the
migration route. What I have witnessed from these people along
the migration route is enough to restore anyone's hope and
faith in the goodness of mankind.
These folks allow us to use their property to hide the birds.
While we are there, they surrender their land completely.
Adhering to our isolation protocol means that no one, not even
the landowners themselves, are allowed to use it.
Many invite us into their homes and treat us royally. They
offer us bathrooms, showers, food, TV/movies, and internet
access. They invite their friends and family over to meet us;
and they invite people they think might contribute to our
project to come and here our story. Many are farmers that
plant and harvest their crops around our schedule - putting
their very livelihoods on the line for us. These wonderful
folks have made us an extended part of their family, not only
for the time that we are there, but throughout the year.
It is a shame these people have to remain anonymous in order
to preserve the birds' safety in isolation. They deserve a
medal from all of us in this world who care about
conservation. One day, when this project reaches its
successful conclusion, these heroes will receive their due. In
the meantime, I want to say to them, "You have become
dear friends, and I will miss you all."
I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity of
working with
OM.
The opportunity for someone fresh out of school to land a job
on a project of this magnitude is, to say the very least,
unbelievable. Thanks so much to Joe, Chris, and Liz, the Baron
RVH, Daddy BJP, Chris G, and all of PWRC. It has been a
pleasure working with you these last four years.
And a sincere thank you goes out to all you Craniacs
out there; to
OM's loyal supporters and Field Journal followers; to everyone
I have met, worked with, and 'lived' with throughout my four
years with Operation Migration. Just like on the Oscars, the
orchestra would start playing long before I could list all
your names - but you know who are.
Goodbye all - and thanks for the memories!
Joe's Message:
Mark Nipper
began working with Operation Migration as
an intern. In other words, he worked very hard and was paid
very little. Recruited on our behalf by Dan Sprague of the
Patuxent
Wildlife
Research
Center
, Mark worked with the Crane Ecology Team during the hatch and
early training portion of our study. He was dedicated and well
liked, and when the birds were moved to Necedah, Mark came
with them.
He spent that summer with us and then the migration, and soon
became an integral part of the team. With a little more
responsibility and not much more money, we persuaded Mark to
come back the following season. He became increasingly
valuable to the organization.
After two years of being away from home for a nine month
stretch and then unemployed for three, it's hard to stay
focused, and Mark announced it was time for him to move on.
But by then he knew more about our birds than most and we
offered him a full time position as Supervisor of Field
Operations. This meant Mark was in charge of the birds and
training while they were under Operation Migration's
authority.
He handled interns, bird medication, schedules, pen
maintenance, record keeping, migration routes and a myriad
other duties. Mark also spent his winters in
Florida
helping the Monitoring Team which meant that he was with the
birds more than anyone else. It also meant he had no fixed
address and not much of a social life, which after a while,
wears thin. Wanting to continue his education, Mark told us
this past winter he would be leaving once the first cohort of
2006 birds had been shipped from.
All of us, right down to the last person on this team, are sad
to see Mark leave. During breeding season, summer training and
the migration we work seven days a week, but for the rest of
us, the season eventually ends. Traveling year-round with the
flock and monitoring them from hatch to winter release and
beyond made him the epicenter of bird activity; an axis around
whom the
OM
team revolved. As his knowledge of cranes and our protocol
grew, so did his ability, and our
respect.
Mark was young and eager when we first met him, and we watched
him evolve. At the same time our web audience was growing
along with the awareness of this project. Team members are
encourages to contribute to our website, and Mark became a
regular 'columnist', reporting on the birds in his own
inimitable style which has endeared him to many readers.
We say goodbye to Mark very reluctantly, but we wish him well.
I think that
OM
has had a hand in shaping the man that Mark has become - and I
know he influenced the evolution of this organization. A large
portion of the success of this reintroduction is owed to
Mark Nipper
.
It appears that Mark has used my name as a reference because
yesterday I received a call from someone asking me to verify
all the good things Mark said about himself. I spent 20
minutes adding to this gentleman's impression of Mark, and at
the end, he asked me one of those probing interview questions.
"Is there an area of Mark's personality that could stand
improvement?" I couldn't think of any.
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Hey Mark, consider this
photo our 'parting shot'.
Laundry over his shoulder and a
change of clothes in his duffle, Mark, decked out in his
'gottchies' heads across camp from his trailer to the
shower. (Photo taken last summer.)
Good luck Mark - all the very best
to you from all of us at OM. |
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| Date: |
June
26th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Joe Duff |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Cohort 1 moves to Necedah |
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This year's
flock of Whooping crane chicks is slowly coming of age and it's
time to move the first cohort from Patuxent to Necedah.
Normally moving birds is a difficult process with high risk.
They can be crated and moved by road but it's
a thousand miles from Maryland to Wisconsin. The other option
is on a commercial airline but that's
expensive and complicated and the nearest direct flight takes
them to Chicago, still four hours away. Terry Kohler from
Windway Capital has donated the use of one of his aircraft to
help us move birds ever since this project began. By the time
all of the birds are in Wisconsin this year, Windway will have
made 15 round trips between Necedah and Patuxent.
On Sunday evening
Mike Frakes and Charles Koehler from Windway attempted to fly
the company Cessna Caravan from Sheboygan, Wisconsin to
Baltimore, Maryland. Unfortunately the weather didn't
cooperate and they were delayed first in Ohio and then
Pennsylvania. They finally arrived this morning and met with
the crane crew at Patuxent. Normally they try to make an early
morning departure so it's easier to
keep the chicks cool in their crates but they were not able to
load them and take off heading west until 11AM.
BWI is only a few
miles from Patuxent Wildlife Research Center where this
morning the crane ecology crew loaded eight Whooping crane
chicks into specially designed transport crates and lifted
them into an air conditioned van. They made their way to the
airport and with special clearance drove out onto the tarmac.
They greeted the pilots with smiles and raised thumbs but no
one talked while the birds could hear them. One by one the
crates were silently loaded and tied down in the compartment
that is normally full of seats.
Four hours later, pilots Mike
Frakes and Charles Koehler, touched down at the much smaller
Necedah Airport. There refuge manager, Larry Wargowsky along
with Richard and Brooke from OM and Charlie Shafer from
Patuxent waited in another air conditioned van. It is only six
miles from the airport to the pen at the north site but it
takes at least 30 minutes when driving slow enough to avoid
all the bumps on the dirt roads.
During the summer
training season when the pens are occupied, we always park in
the cover of trees and walk the last quarter mile in silence
and full costume. It seems almost irreverent to drive the van
right up to the pen but this is arrival day and the only
exception. The crates were moved into the dry pen, and Barry
Hartup, veterinarian from the International Crane Foundation,
gave each bird a visual examination as it steps awkwardly from
its crate on gangly legs. Normally they shake off the ordeal
in only a few minutes and are soon exploring the new digs.
Barry watches with experienced eyes for signs of lameness,
dehydration, myopathy and a host of other ailments that can
result when very young birds are moved a thousand miles.
Luckily no injuries were reported
Number 602 is in
this cohort and is now back where she began. As an egg she was
collected from an abandoned nest and shipped to Patuxent to be
incubated along with 603. Now she has returned but not with
her nest mate. Unfortunately 603 had to be euthanized last
week after an acute case of hock rotation. During the early
stages as the leg bones develop they can begin to rotate until
their toes are pointing directly outward. All attempts to
correct this problem failed and the crippled birds had to be
put down.
With the exception
of 603, numbers 1 through 10 are in this shipment. Also absent
is 609 who was held back and will be added to the captive
flock because of her genetic significance.
We would like to
again express our gratitude to Terry Kohler and all the
Windway Capital pilots for once again stepping forward to help
safeguard this species. Thanks to them the 2006 summer
training season has begun.
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| Date: |
June
23th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Joe Duff |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Big News |
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Yesterday,
Dr. Richard Urbanek called us from Necedah to congratulate us
on reaching yet another significant milestone. The first wild
Whooping crane chick of the eastern migratory flock was
hatched yesterday to parents 211 and 217.
A milestone can be defined as a marker for a significant event,
and there have been many along the road that Operation
Migration has followed. It started when Bill Lishman first
took to the air leading a small flock of Canada geese that he
spent months conditioning. Another signpost was passed when we
conducted the first human-led
migration, and then when our birds
came back on their own. Convincing the federal government and
all the other members of the Whooping Crane Eastern
Partnership that using ultralights to introduce the most
endangered of all cranes was not lunacy, surely
qualifies as a benchmark. And leading the first flock of
Whooping cranes from Wisconsin to Florida is a high point that
I will always remember.
The chick produced by 211 and 217 was as a result of their
second nesting attempt this season. They, along with 7 other
pairs, abandoned their first nest, but while the others went
about the business of summer foraging, these two re-nested and
incubated diligently. Seems the first try was just practice
for this grand event.
Dr. Urbanek cautioned that he had not actually seen the chick
because the vegetation is too high and he wanted to keep his
distance. But the pair were busy stamping down the grass
around the nest and fetching food, which as George Archibald
from the International Crane Foundation agrees, is typical
behaviour for new parents. It won't
be long before the chick leaves the nest and begins to learn
to forage on its own. That should give the tracking team a
chance to see it through binoculars.
Hatching a chick and keeping it alive until it learns to fly
are two very different disciplines. The next stage is so
dangerous in fact that we really can't
count this bird as part of the eastern population until it
fledges - and that is 80 to 100 perilous days away so
there is
still a long way to go.
We have two chicks from wild eggs
collected in Necedah and hatched at Patuxent as part of our
flock this year, and one in the wild that we will all be
watching closely. The next marker will be passed if 211 and
217 teach their youngster our migration route. That will be a
giant step and a strong indication that they are beginning to
help themselves. It will prove that all we have to do is give
them a chance and they can survive on their own.
The removal of Whooping cranes from the endangered species
list is our ultimate milestone but we seem to be ticking them
off like fencepost next to the highway. Hang on, we'll
get this done yet. |
| Date: |
June
20th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Tracking Team update |
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Sad news today. The
remains of 417 was found June 18th at Gallagher Flowage,
Sandhill State Wildlife Area. The mortality site contained no
standing water and predation is suspected. 417 was last
confirmed alive roosting on the Necedah Refuge the evening of
May 24th. The condition of the carcass indicated that
mortality had probably occurred shortly after he left the
refuge.
Distribution at the end of last week was:
59 - Wisconsin
1 -
Iowa (509)
3 - Michigan (318 who appears to
be molting is in Oceana County. DAR 533* remained in Barry
County. 522 remained in or near Newago County until he flushed
with Sandhill cranes during a June 14th reconnaissance for a
retrieval attempt. He flew into Muskegon County and could not
be tracked further.)
Nesting: 211 and 217* continue incubating on their nest.
Not recorded during the last week: 102* and107* (both have
nonfunctional transmitters)
Thanks to Kelly Maguire and Sara Zimorski (ICF); Terry Kohler,
Mike Mauer, Mike Frakes, and Adam Heronymus (Windway Capital
Corporation); and Glenn Klingler (USDA Forest Service, Huron-Manistee
National Forest) for their assistance. |
| Date: |
June
18th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Mark Nipper |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Patuxent |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Cohort
2 |
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Just a quick update to
introduce everyone to Cohort Two (see new pics in Photo Journal). So far, numbers 11-17 are all relatively easy
going, and we were able to take the entire group out for
together the first time the other day. This may be the
earliest and easiest an entire cohort has been socialized.
Hopefully, these guys will continue to get along well.
At this point, 612 and 615 are the only aggressive chicks in
this cohort. 615 instigates most of the minor confrontations,
but 612 is in charge.
We are greatly concerned about 616. This chick had to be
assisted out of its shell. It has a respiratory problem and
potential scoliosis. We have been treating him since he
hatched, but have seen little to no improvement in the
respiratory trouble. Also, his neck is not straight, and the
crookedness is becoming more apparent as he gets bigger. It's
a shame; 616 has such a great attitude.
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| Date: |
June
18th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Joe Duff |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Team
Changes |
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As some of you may
know, Mark Nipper will be resigning his position with
Operation Migration effective the end of June. Mark decided he
wanted to continue his education, not to mention to bring some
normalcy to what has been a nomadic life with
OM.
Be assured we will be writing more here about Mark later on,
but in the meantime, as you may have deduced from the deletion
of the job posting for a Supervisor of Field Operations, we
found his replacement.
We would like to announce that Beverly Paulan has agreed to
join the OM Team. Bev's background includes both aviation and
avian experience, and despite our warning her about all the
traveling, the long hours, tight living quarters, and more
often than not, the absence of 'mod cons', we didn't
discourage her. Her 'baptism by fire' will begin when she
joins the
OM
crew July 1st in Necedah.
Beverly
will have a more challenging time than did
Mark, as he had a few years to evolve into his position. In
doing so, he set the bar quite high and
Beverly
knows that she has a big pair of shoes to fill.
We're confident though, that Bev's
many talents, and her background and experience will stand her
in good stead. And Mark learned when he first came on the
scene, once you're a part of the
OM
team you can be assured of getting all the help and support
you need.
Welcome aboard Bev!
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| Date: |
June
17th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Mark Nipper |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Patuxent |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Big
step forward |
Yesterday,
things took a big step forward at PWRC. The older birds had their first full day and night out at the White
Series. We were also able to socialized Cohort 1 at the WS
pond pens for a while. Hopefully, we will soon be able to get
them staying out there all night too.
In the morning, we trained numbers 11-15 all together at
the circle pen. Except for 615, they did pretty well.
He was distracted, slow, and aggressive towards
everyone. But it was not too bad. It was more like he was just
making sure everyone knew he was in charge.
611 and 612 were both a little nervous about joining the melee
to get at the mealworms. 613 was nervous the whole time, but
the upside was that this translated into her being the closest
follower of the trike.
Accompanied by a small squad of costumes to keep the peace,
numbers 1-10 all went out to the pond yesterday afternoon.
Overall, they did quite well - very promising.
602 and 608 seem to have calmed down nicely and were
not too aggressive.
604 seemed determined to be the biggest jerk. 606 was
aggressive but mainly only when another bird got in its space,
or if it met eyes with 604. Both of these chicks were fired
up, but in the main, their aggression was mostly toward one
another. These two really hate each other.
(More new pics coming to the Photo Journal as fast
as we can process them. Liz)
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| Date: |
June
16th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Mark Nipper |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Patuxent |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Chick
Training |
Things are rolling right along at PWRC. The
groupings are getting larger, and the White Series pensite is
finally ready so we will soon have some birds living outside
all the time. Yesterday, the chicks spent most of the day out
there and they seemed to handle it pretty well. Today (Friday)
they should be good to go out there for the night. This will
lighten our load considerably and make life a lot easier here.
The other day we walked numbers 11, 13, 14, and 15 together.
#12 was a little under the weather that day but we don't think
it should disturb the mix too much. The first group of nine,
(1-10) has multiple aggressive birds, but the second cohort
seems to be more laid back. By the end of the week, 616 and
617 should be easy to add to the grouping of 11-15. It will be
great if we can have the whole group able to walk and train
together so far before the shipment.
Numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8 are still not officially in any group.
608 is doing better, and has even trained with 607 and
610, but she is still aggressive at times. #2 and #4 seem to
be calming down a little bit, but they still get fired up at
each other, and at 606 – who is definitely the biggest
butthead left. 606 and 604 were fighting through the fence out
at the White Series yesterday. Shortly after, they crossed
paths on the way back to the Prop building, and the rumble was
on. We had to separate them several times. They were climbing
over and through us trying to get at each other. As shipment
date approaches, this behaviour is less than encouraging.
(New photos posted here. Liz)
|
| Date: |
June
13th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Guest
FJ Contributor |
Notes:
We welcome Megan Lauber as a guest contributor to OM's
Field Journal. Megan is Crane Coordinator with the Freeport
McMoran Audubon Species Survival Center - Audubon Center for
Research of Endangered Species (ACRES) in New Orleans,
Louisana.
Cranes,
Planes, and Hurricanes.....
It's been a tough year for Audubon Nature Institute
and the city of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit forty
miles east on the morning of August 28th, 2005. In the days
and weeks after the storm there were some dark moments when we
wondered about many things, including if the crane programs
would continue at Audubon.
But we rebounded. On May 16th I boarded a plane bound for
Baltimore
carrying with me a single fertile Whooping crane egg. We are
proud to be sending a Whooping crane egg to the
Patuxent
Wildlife
Research
Center
to be included in the ultralight program.
I am also proud of our breeding pair, McFuzz and Susan, as
their resilience is stunning. They didn't let the worst
natural disaster in the history of the United Sates get in
their way of laying eggs this season. They danced, purred to
each other, dragged sticks to their muddy platform, and
incubated diligently as if nothing had happened. I was amazed
by their unbridled enthusiasm.
McFuzz, Susan, and six more Whooping cranes all live at ACRES
in New Orleans: 1300 acres of leased Coast Guard property on
the city's west bank. Shell gravel roads wind through the
lush, lowland hardwood forest, ending at enclosures for
African hoofstock, lions, serval cats, storks, and cranes.
Our breeding flock of 29 Mississippi Sandhill cranes and eight
Whooping cranes populate 40 pens in a 12 acre field. As
Hurricane Katrina bore down on
New Orleans
we were uncertain if any our animals would survive. A team of
people, the "storm riders", were planning on staying
on grounds for the storm, but were ordered to leave at the
last minute as the risk of flooding was simply too great. We
secured our animals in their enclosures and joined the long
lines of traffic exiting the city.
The following morning, Hurricane Katrina took a last minute
jog east which spared
New Orleans
even worse devastation. The director of our facility secured a
helicopter, and over the next two days, four storm riders,
including myself, were brought back to ACRES.
We passed over the crane area as we flew in. I looked outside
the window and could see McFuzz walking around outside his
pen. His gate had blown open, but he was unable to find his
way back inside to Susan. They literally stood among ruins.
Most
of the flight netting and shade-cloth on the crane pens had
been torn off. The skeletal remains of trees jutted out of the
once dense, green forest. After we landed, I began to corral
cranes and count heads. McFuzz joined Susan as soon as I
herded him back into his pen. They unison-called and danced
their joy at being reunited.
Moving on, I saw many pairs did fine through the storm despite
the wind damage to the pens. Others weren’t as lucky. Rhett,
a Whooping crane, died after getting tangled up in downed
netting, and Valentine, a Mississippi Sandhill crane, was
fatally injured by her mate.
Since the hurricane, things have been slowly getting back to
normal for the Audubon Nature Institute, and the city of
New Orleans
. The Audubon Zoo reopened on November 25, 2005, to crowds of
people thrilled to see the animals again. Just a few weeks
ago, Audubon's Aquarium of the
Americas
reopened as well.
Life is finally starting to look like it used to. And that's
when I think of McFuzz and Susan. Life was normal for them
just as soon as McFuzz rejoined Susan in their pen. From that
point on, it seemed like the hurricane was just a minor speed
bump in their lives. They got busy foraging in their pond,
ignoring the energy trucks that rumbled by to fix downed
wires. They gave only cursory glances to the construction
workers replacing flight netting on forty pens. It was
business as usual, and Susan laid her first egg on March 30th.
Their enthusiasm is infectious. They seem to believe that
whatever comes their way, they'll survive.....and I believe it
too.
|
| Date: |
June
11th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Mark Nipper |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Patuxent |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Chick
Update |
Notes:
It's about time huh....? PWRC has been a mad house this year, leaving
little time for typing. A lot has been going on obviously, and
we will try and catch everyone up as much as possible.
22 chicks are currently designated for the ultralight-led migration.
There is only enough room for sixteen chicks in the
Propagation
Building
, so while numbers 1 through 17 are still housed there, 18,
19, 20, 22, 23, and 25 are being housed in the
Crane
Chick
Building
.
We are working to get the White Series pens (WSP) ready, and
we are also trying to get the chicks ready to go stay out
there. Once 6 chicks move into those outdoors pens there will
be enough room for all of the rest of the chicks to be in one
building. This is better for the chicks, and makes everything
a lot easier for us.
The groups are coming along much better these days. 1, 3, and
5 have been together for a couple of weeks. They are walking
and training together and it has been working out well. #3 is
still aggressive every now and then, but usually only towards
#1 who is rather submissive. #5 does not seem to notice any of
it; she just wants something to eat.
#7 and 10 have been together for a little while and had been
doing fine until recently when #10 turned into a highly
independent forager. #10 is a huge pain right now, and no one
wants to be the costume that has to work with him. Every weed,
flower, or bit of grass, are the preferred distractions. This
especially includes clover flowers - and anything else white.
The bird will eat a plant that is way too long and rigid to be
eaten and usually gets it stuck. #8 is thrown into this group
for walks but she still has a lot of aggression inside to be
worked out.
Numbers 11, 12, and 13 are a great little group. These three
run around like crazy for walks and have been training well
together so far. #14 and 15 are walking and training well
together too. #15 has had trouble with his legs, but he seems
to be getting better now. 14 was also being treated for a
minor problem but has gotten better as well. Numbers 16 and 17
are working out well together. 16 is currently being treated
for respiratory trouble but it does not hold him back too
much. 17 has had a limp every now and then so we just take it
easy with these two.
Most of our daily efforts are focused on getting the chicks
out to the WSP. This is difficult with the entire flock
having hatched inside a month. Taking care of all the birds
when they are located in two separate buildings chews up so
much time that there is little left for maintenance and prep
work.
Yesterday, four of us took numbers 1 through 10 out to the
White Series pensite and spilt them up in the six pens
available to chicks. Three of us stayed out there, each
attending to the birds in two adjoining pens. This allowed us
to give the chicks a chance to get used to being 'abandoned'
while still making sure they didn't kill themselves or each
other. Hopefully, within a few days, we will be able to leave
them out there all day. Small steps is the name of the game.
(Along with his update, Mark sent a number of photos which have been posted to the photo journal. See how the chicks have grown!!
Liz)
|
| Date: |
June
8th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Joe Duff |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Bumper
Crop |
Notes:
The severe weather that threatened
the production of eggs at
Patuxent
Wildlife
Research
Center
seems to have done nothing more that compact the breeding
season.
Normally, we have an age spread of 40 to 45 days between the
youngest chick and the first one to hatch. This year they are
only 27 days apart. While that adds a little congestion to the
training, it should help us in the long run.
When the propagation building at Patuxent was constructed,
Whooping cranes were not as plentiful as they are today. I am
sure that then, there seemed plenty of room to accommodate
hatchlings. Now it’s bursting at the seams.
Once hatched in the incubators, the chicks are moved across
the hall to a brooder to dry off and stabilize. Later they are
moved to indoor pens in an adjoining room, and housed next to
adult role models to ensure they identify with the correct
species. Each of these enclosures has a sliding door that
leads to outdoor runs so the chicks can get fresh air and
exercise.
Next, the chicks are introduced to the ultralight and begin
circle pen training. As they learn to socialize and become
strong enough to withstand cool evening air, they are moved in
groups to the White Series pensite. This pen compound is a few
hundred yards away from the propagation building and includes
a pond. From this point on they spend their lives outside, and
are trained in cohorts in preparation for shipment to Necedah.
Moving the older chicks leaves the propagation building open
for the next wave of newly hatchlings. It is like an assembly
line, and the only way Patuxent and
OM
staff could possible raise and train that many birds for
release. With the eggs all hatched in short order this year,
it's like someone turned the speed up on the production line.
The crane ecology staff has had to work doubly hard to keep
up. In fact, some birds have had to be moved to the crane
chick building, and the trike must be moved daily to handle
the extra training.
So far we have 22 chicks for ultralight training. One
additional chick will be a genetic holdback and kept at
Patuxent to increase the viability of their captive flock.
Terry Kohler of Windway Capital Corp of
Sheboygan
will again donate the use of his aircraft to deliver the birds
to Necedah in three separate shipments. The first shipment is
scheduled for June 26th. Our team will begin arriving at
Necedah a week or so in advance of this date in order to make
the necessary preparations for the chicks' arrival and also
get the camp organized. The rest of the birds should arrive on
July 6th an 13th.
The flock managers at ICF report that 6 DAR birds are doing
well. They don’t expect more hatches for a couple of weeks,
and because of shipments from other facilities, like The
Calgary Zoo, they have a little break.
Even the Aransas/Wood Buffalo flock is experiencing record
numbers. Brian Johns reports that there are 62 nests in
Canada's Wood
Buffalo
National Park
. This surpasses the record of 61 in 2003. Although it was a
dry start to the year, water levels in their northern nesting
grounds are now average; better than expected.
At Necedah, number 216 seems to have recovered from his leg
injury and is walking without a limp. 211 and 217 are still
incubating their second nest, and if we are extremely lucky,
we could see a chick by sometime around June 23rd.
All in all the season is looking great so far. Now we need to
turn our full attention to fundraising so we can be sure we
can pay for it!
|
| Date: |
June
6th, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
MileMaker Challenge!
Win a trip to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and visit with the Operation Migration team! Click here for details! |
| Activity: |
Two
Flock's Updates |
Reintroduced Flock
(* =Female)
Weekly
Tracking Team Report as of June 3/06
Estimated distribution at the end of the week:
55 -
Wisconsin
6 - Iowa
(501*, 508*, 509, 512, 514, 519*
3 -
Michigan
(318 continued to be reported from his yearling summering area
in
Oceana County
,
MI
. On June 2, 522 reportedly returned to
Montcalm
County
. According to PTT readings, DAR533* remained in
Barry
County
.)
Nesting: 211 and 217* continued incubating on their
nest at Necedah. Incubation began May 23.
Health Concerns: 216's leg injury improved greatly in
recent weeks, and his limp was barely noticeable.
Aransas/Wood
Buffalo
Flock
On
his June 6th aerial census of the Aransas National Wildlife
Refuge Tom Stehn reports finding just 3 sub-adult Whooping
cranes, two less than he found on May 18th.
One of the sub-adults, believed to be the Lobstick juvenile
injured last spring and which did also not migrate last
summer, was on its own. Tom said the others appeared to be a
duo and were in the saltmarsh where he found them in mid-May.
"I always am concerned that Whooping cranes that fail to
migrate have health problems," said Tom. "Although
they currently look fine, I will continue to monitor the
remaining three cranes periodically."
Tom Stehn told us that, "Long-time whooping crane census
pilot Dr. Tom Taylor of Rockport Aerial Services has announced
his retirement effective this summer. I will definitely miss
his help and tremendous expertise!
He has piloted the Whooping crane census flights for
the past 13 winters dating back to the fall, 1993." What a
commitment!
Brian Johns of the Canadian Wildlife Service reports finding a
record 62 nests in
Canada
. Two of the nests have been predated, and one crane is
sitting on a nest with no eggs. This leaves 59 nests that
could hatch chicks. Brian said that water levels look better
than expected and that production surveys were scheduled in
Wood
Buffalo
National Park
beginning June 13th.
|
| Date: |
June
3rd, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
|
| Activity: |
Patuxent Update |
|
Notes: Mark sends his apologies for the delay in passing along the latest hatch
news. He said, "Things are absolutely BONKERS around
here."
With all the eggs hatching one after the other within
a period of a few weeks, space in the propagation building
became an issue, as did manpower. Think of it as trying to
care for several sets of helpless, hungry, thirsty
quintuplets all at once - with a handful of them going
through the 'terrible two's, and you'll understand why Mark
describes things as being 'bonkers'. The crew at Patuxent
are run off their feet.
As the chicks age, and early conditioning and training
intensifies, there will be no respite for the crew. June
26th is the tentative date for shipping the first cohort to
Necedah so there is some relief in sight for the crew, but
it is still weeks away.
Baring any changes, the entire flock destined for the
ultralight-led migration is shown on the chart below. (
UK
=
Unknown)
#
|
Hatch Date
|
Sex
|
Remarks
|
Egg Source
|
601
|
5-May
|
M
|
|
ICF
|
602
|
6-May
|
F
|
|
Necedah
|
603
|
7-May
|
F
|
|
Necedah
|
604
|
8-May
|
F
|
|
Calgary
|
605
|
9-May
|
F
|
|
PWRC
|
606
|
11-May
|
M
|
|
PWRC
|
607
|
13-May
|
M
|
|
ICF
|
608
|
13-May
|
F
|
|
PWRC
|
NA
|
14-May
|
UK
|
Genetic
holdback
|
PWRC
|
610
|
14-May
|
M
|
|
PWRC
|
611
|
18-May
|
F
|
|
Audubon
|
612
|
18-May
|
M
|
|
ICF
|
613
|
19-May
|
UK
|
|
ICF
|
614
|
20-May
|
UK
|
|
Calgary
|
615
|
21-May
|
UK
|
|
PWRC
|
616
|
23-May
|
UK
|
|
PWRC
|
617
|
24-May
|
UK
|
|
PWRC
|
618
|
27-May
|
UK
|
|
Calgary
|
619
|
28-May
|
UK
|
|
Calgary
|
620
|
28-May
|
UK
|
|
Calgary
|
NA
|
30-May
|
UK
|
Non-project
|
PWRC
|
622
|
31-May
|
UK
|
|
Calgary
|
623
|
31-May
|
UK
|
|
PWRC
|
NA
|
31-May
|
UK
|
Non-project
|
PWRC
|
625
|
1-Jun
|
UK
|
|
PWRC
|
|
| Date: |
June
2nd, 2006 |
Links |
| Reporter: |
Liz Condie |
Spring 2006 Photo Journal. |
| Location: |
Main
Office |
|
| Activity: |
CHALLENGE |
|
Wanted
- MileMakers Up For A Challenge
Staunch supporter Rick Jones of
Wisconsin
asked us to issue a challenge to his fellow MileMakers. Rick
is a retired Library employee, who, in addition to
contributing financial support to OM, also copies and pastes
our Field Journal reports into emails to send on to his
relatives and friends. Way to go Rick!
Rick's challenge to all 2006
MileMakers is to bring a NEW, 1 mile MileMaker sponsor to
the cause - between now and August 25th, 2006.
We of course love Rick's idea, and as encouragement,
through the generosity of our good friend Jeff Huxmann at
Solterra Communications, we are able to sweeten the
deal.
E-mail (or mail) us the names of the NEW MileMaker(s) you brought on board, and for each new 1 mile MileMaker
sponsor's name you send, we'll put an entry in a draw for
you to win:
* $500
toward a flight to
Madison, WI for the Necedah Crane Festival, Sept. 16th,
2006.
* Three nights double accommodation in Necedah or
nearby Tomah.
* An escorted back scenes tour of
the Necedah Refuge.
(potential opportunity to spot/photograph
Whooping cranes)
* A
visit and BBQ dinner at camp with the
OM
crew.
How's that for incentive?!
Challenge Rules
- You must be a 2006 1/4, 1/2,
or mile(s) sponsor to be eligible to enter.
- Prize must be accepted as
awarded and arranged and is non-redeemable for cash.
- Flight/accommodation
arrangements and payments shall be made by Operation
Migration directly with/to suppliers.
- Only entries received before 11:59am EST August
25,2006 shall be eligible for the draw.
The draw will be made at
OM's offices at noon EST August 25th. The winner will be
notified via e-mail and the results of the draw posted to
the Field Journal the same day.
|
CLICK HERE to view the Spring 2006 #5 Field Journal
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