Whooping Cranes Arrive at Chasshowitzka NWR

The Eagle has landed....so to speak!!!!

The last seven whooping cranes have touched down at Chasshowitzka NWR. The area is all marsh and the trikes couldn't land, so handlers in crane costumes were at the pen to call them in. Six of them touched down - #824 liked the warm thermals and didn't want to land so they finally had find a field to land and crate her up and take her to the pen site. Yes, #824 was the gal that I kind of adopted, LOL. Guess she wanted to head on down to the Keys!!

eta: Since I posted this blog I read at Operation Migration that it was actually #804, not #824 who resisted setting down at Chasshowitzka.

It took 88 days to make the journey and I am constantly overwhelmed at the commitment of the crew that makes this possible.

Can't wait for spring so I can visit the International Crane Foundation and see their new Crane exhibit. Camping at Necedah is also a must for summer camping. In the meantime, I'm just trying to keep warm!!

Here are some videos from YouTube of the arrival and interviews in St Marks.

Technorati tags: Whooping Crane
International Crane Foundation
Operation Migration
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
Journey South
Chasshowitzka NWR
St Marks NWR

Whooping Cranes Arrive at St Marks

They are in Florida!!!! In a staging area the whoopers were split into two groups of 7. The first group, who were destined for the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge have arrived and are in their new winter home.

You can see two handlers in their whooping crane costumes in between the two ponds and the seven whoopers on the right hand side. They will be kept in the enclosure at the top of the pen (it has a net top) until they have been final inspected for health and their permanent transmitters installed. Their interaction with humans will be over at that point and they will be released into the open area. Come spring they will fly back to Necedah, Wi on their own and join the migratory group.

Here are a couple of pictures of the seven arriving. There was a huge crowd of over 2,000 people to watch them fly over to their new home.



There are three more "stops" until the final seven, including my #824, reach the Chassahowitzka NWR . This is where all the cranes previously added to the flock via the Operation Migration process have been taken to winter. I believe it was decided to split the cranes to prevent the possibility of losing the whole flock to a natural disaster - most of the class of 2006 was lost in an unusual storm February 1, 2007.

Pictures from Operation Migration Field Notes. Please click on the link to read more about this amazing program and the wonderful people who dedicate a large portion of their time to preserving the whooping crane population. Kudo's to them!!!

Technorati tags: Whooping Crane
International Crane Foundation
Operation Migration
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership
Journey South
Chasshowitzka NWR
St Marks NWR