Thought you all might be interested in an update on the introduced flock of Whooping Cranes provided by Richard Urbanek, USFWS crane biologist and Laura Fondow, crane researcher and International Crane Foundation technician. 36 cranes went south last fall. 25 including seven yearlings returned to the core introduction area vicinity Necedah National Wildife refuge in Wisconsin. One 3-year old female returned to the Horicon region. Eight yearlings blown off course by strong westerlies ended up in Michigan's Lower Peninsula and are usually in suitable wetland habitat in the northern and western portions of the LP. One second-year bird was last seen heading north from Lake County, FL on Apr 6 and another was last seen heading north in NC IL on 16 Apr. Presumably these latter two birds are somewhere in the Upper Midwest. If you think you may have seen the missing birds, please call me at 612-713-5437 or contact the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and we will notify the crane biologists. Breeding is not expected until next year but pairing appears to have occurred already in at least one case so we may be within a year of two of seeing Whooping Cranes breeding again in the Midwest after more than a century of absence from the Midwest. The survival rate of the introduced whoopers of more than 80% is astounding and a tribute to the dozens of dedicated folks involved in this program, especially the state DNRs along the route, the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration, Necedah and Chassahowitzka NWRs (FL), the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, many state, Federal, and NGO biologists, and many landowners and private donors that have contributed to this program through funding, aerial tracking, or allowing the cranes and accompanying ultralight airplanes to utilize their property. Bob Russell, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ft. Snelling, MN.
