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[shep]

September 28, 2015       Shepnotes
cranes ground exercise
2 trikes came in but did take take the colts up
They did let them out
4 flew a wide circle and returned
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/74347199

baz - I am pleased you liked it!

[shep]

September 30, 2015       Wenzday  Shepnotes

Featherface 6:02 AM
This morning looks promising for departure. Crew is getting in place. Joe will be lead pilot.


Migration flight cam
Heather holds one at flyovers and one is on the travel pen
http://operationmigration.org/flightcam.asp

Timeline
http://operationmigration.org/migration-timelines.asp

Migration map
http://operationmigration.org/operation-migration-map.asp

Stop 1 is Green Lake, Wisc - 5 miles.  One year the flight was under half hour.


Perfect Air
Joe Duff, OM perfectionist pilot  (edited)
Occasionally, I have been referred to as a perfectionist. That has its pros and cons. You get things done just the way you like them but you must resist re-doing the work of others.  (LOL! true!)
Perfectionism is a mild form of disability.

OM progess south depends on calm, fogless air,  not common in the fall.
The reason we need calm air is because Whooping cranes are soaring birds. Their 7 foot wings are designed to carry them aloft on thermals so they can glide along their course without much effort.
The 2015 cohort has already learned to ride the wake of the trike wing.
END JOE, read link, great report!
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/09/30/perfect-air

Sept 20 VIDEO
http://youtu.be/eWLcoBjSa1g

As one who also suffers from perfectionism, perhaps thats why I most appreciate Joe's pilot reports!  He writes what I want to know.




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[shep]

OM PHOTO

September 30, 2015       Wenzday  Shepnotes
I gave up on chat after being kicked out a few times.
A couple days ago mod kept deleting my posts as they often do.
Takes ALL the fun out of chat.

7.12 am  Joe lands and the birds are released -
 - and the birds lead Joe up up - and - awayyyyyyy
I followed with the video and got some pics.

LATER
Migration Day 1 *  September 30, 2015
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/09/30/and-theyre-off-2

You can almost see Joe grin as he heads for the camera!

[shep]

October 1, 2015       Thurzday  Shepnotes
No fly - wind
Stop #1 is BEAUTIFUL!
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/10/01/day-2-standing-down

The SUPER Six
Sep. 30, 2015 by Joe Duff, OM lead pilot
We crossed over the ridge to the first migration stop.  They landed right next to the trike and stood at attention, heads up, eyes wide and moved closer to the aircraft as the only thing familiar in a strange new environment. Brooke landed and we taxied close to the pen.

Within minutes they were chasing grasshoppers as we opened the pen. Number 11 was first in, crossing the threshold as if it were everyday stuff.  Number 2 was next and then they all came in.
The trip took over half an hour.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/09/30/lead-pilot-report-the-super-six


Whoopsie Has a New Home
Oct. 1, 2015 -  The captive crane flock at the International Crane Foundation has a new member ? The Whooping-Sandhill Crane hybrid chick that hatched earlier this year in eastern Wisconsin has been transferred to their headquarters from the Milwaukee County Zoo, where it was temporarily housed this summer.

The chick will be placed in quarantine for 30 days and then housed off exhibit in ICF?s Crane City. The husbandry staff at ICF will provide excellent care for the young crane as it continues to mature, and they hope to pair it with an existing bird in their collection for companionship.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/10/01/whoopsie-has-a-new-home

[lindawyos little brother]

  Amazing stuff!!

[shep]

October  3, 2015       Sataday  Shepnotes
DOWN again - wind Migration - in Green Lake County, Wisconsin for another day.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField


I did get a couple snips

[omasawyer]

  Great "snips" shep~~~Thank you for all the "snips"

[shep]

OM tume Doug Pellerin took photo


October  6, 2015       Toozday  Shepnotes
Still at stop 1 - no fly today either

The Pitot Tube on the trikes
Oct. 4, 2015 Jeff Fox, OM worker
What is a pitot tube?  Basically, a pitot tube is used to measure airspeed. You?ll notice these little tubes on the front of the ultralights (and sticking out of commercial airliners).
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/?n=field-journal-operationmigration

Migration - in Green Lake County, Wisconsin for another day.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField

[shep]

OM photo by Jo-Anne Bellemer

October  7, 2015       Wenzday  Shepnotes
Still at stop 1 - no fly today either

Video From this Morning
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/10/07/video-from-this-morning-2

OM tried to move, but rodeo, swamp monsters, gave up
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/10/07/day-8-not-so-positive-after-all

[omasawyer]

  Oh, Shep; Jo-Anne's video and photos are magnificent. Thank you for posting (I forgot to go to the OM site today; I was so excited to see Mom and Dad on N2B!!!)

[omasawyer]

Hi Finn, T40, Shep and others!   

Finn, thank you for adding those links to the info flow here. 

Shep, thanks for the training update and report on some of the weekend craniacs activities.  I am aware of the deaths of the whoopers from predation, other injuries, and storms - I was following them those years at the time some of those storms happened.  It was very sad.  Severe and/or large storms wreak havoc on many forms of wildlife, and if serious enough, can have a significant impact on population numbers and locations of some animal species.

T40, it's possible that statement from that article about not enough land to thrive and reproduce was pertaining just to that region of the state.  That's one of the things I dislike about some newspaper reporting - a lack of pertinent details which can lead to misunderstandings and misinformation.  So I really don't know what that scientist statement was specifically related to.  I had not been to the Whooping Crane Partnership website in a while, so thanks to Finn for the link b/c that spurred me to re-visit it.  And that is where I found some good info on what details should or should not be included in listing/reporting the location of sightings.  Though I don't know what legalities are associated with it, I believe it is a good guide - that detail was found on this page:
http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/what2do.html

Keeping in mind the differences between the Western Flock (self-sustaining wild migratory flock) and the Eastern Flock (started in 2001 with captive-bred chicks)...  There are links to explain the differences for each flock at
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/FlockWest.html - Western Flock and
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/FlockEast.html - Eastern Flock

In terms of numbers, the survival/cause of mortality of each bird in this Eastern Flock program since 2001 can be found by delving into the info on the site listed above by Finn.  Here are some steps to get to those details... 
Start at  http://www.learner.org/jnorth/crane/index.html
Then click on "Resources" at the top of that page to get to http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/indexCurrent.html
Then scroll down and click on "Activity: Meet the Cranes: Life Histories Reveal Survival Challenges " to get to http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/SurvivalResearch.html
Then you will see a page of links for each Hatch Year, which you can click on.
***ALSO note on the right side of that page there are three links under the "Key Questions" that will take you to:
The number remaining from each Hatch Year, at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/WCEPStats.html
and How many males/females from each Hatch Year at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/WCEPStats_Gender.html
and The Losses, by calendar year, with details of when and how found or cause of death if known at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/crane/WCEPStats_LossesYr.html

baz; T40, Finn, Shep,etc; too much info for my head but  have bookmarked all to digest little by little. All very exciting on the positive side! Thanks for all

[shep]

October 10, 2015  N2B     Sataday  Shepnotes
Still at stop 1 - no fly today either
The winds from the southwest will keep us grounded for another day.
This morning at 9 am CT, we?re going to hold a live camera/chat session for one hour

Snips are NOT an accident scene - in the dawn fog cornstalks look red.  Who knew?

[shep]

October 14, 2015      Wenzday  Shepnotes
They FINALLY made Marquette county, stop #2 - well, 4 birds flew, 2 rode
Brooke is lead pilot, Joe Duff flew chase. Stop 2 Marquette county - 14 miles
Snips are NOT an accident scene - in the dawn fog cornstalks look red.  Who knew?
I took some nice snips of southern Wisconsin as pilot flew to pen,
then tried to take snips on flight cam in flight
One snip of colts in pen at stop 1 just before trike landed to take them to stop 2.
Only 4 of the 6 followed, the other 2 will be crated and driven in the van.
I'' just post the snips

#8 and #11 did not follow
#8  light blue
#11 dark blue band is the MALE in the group (cohort)


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[shep]

trip snips
The scene in the pen is NOT a bad accident -
or the haunted pen
 



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[shep]

last snips
sorry birds are so blurry - not my fault!
One snip is cool - it shows Joe Duff, the chase pilot behind them