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[shep]

   


Whooping Cranes, Operation Migration

Meet the Class of 2015 Whooping Cranes!
OM - Operation Migration, Princeton in NE Wisconsin
The chicks learn to follow a 'trike' -  essentially a flying lawn mower lol
OM trains chicks to follow a lite aircraft then in September leads them to Florida


7 whooping crane chicks -  6 girls and a boy
July 3, 2015 -  The birds arrived.

July 3  the training
The July 3 training the babies were joined by 2 adult cranes
The grown cranes from previous years return to check out the chicks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HzZ-bQXEP8&feature=youtu.be

July 4 OM should post more info on July 3 training and the wb - adults
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField

July 2, 2015 -  The birds arrived in Wisconsin
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/07/03/theyre-here

July 2 -  The birds arrived at pen site
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5O39CgkH0o

OM Daily blog
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField
http://operationmigration.org

migration timeslines
http://operationmigration.org/migration-timeslines.asp

Jun. 19, 2015  Class of 2015
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/06/19/9118

PHOTOS of returnees from previous years
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/06/18/right-place-at-the-right-time-2

Goodies
cranes - Potential Pair?
June 26, 2015 -  Female #3 2014 and male #4 2012 are still in Green Lake County, Wisconsin
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/06/25/potential-pair
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IMG_1418.jpg

OM Whooping Cranes 2015
http://cj.myfreeforum.org/ftopic4464-162.php

OM Whooping Cranes 2013 2014 2015
http://cj.myfreeforum.org/about4464.html


2 crane cams
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/migratingcranes/pop-out

wild earth cranecam some like better
http://www.wildearth.tv/cam/operation-migration

info on bands, etc
http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=11a4cbb353183651db108a7c1&id=6c100cd1d9&e=d993e87dd7

[shep]

     July 4, 2015     Sataday   Shepnotes

Today's chick - aircraft training
Dont you wonder who trains who?   
https://youtu.be/g_fcbpV87Yk

Did I mention ...
They train the chicks shortly after
6 am

 

[shep]

     July 5, 2015     SONday   Shepnotes

5.30 am  The whooper chicks are in their wet pen, one gives his great wings a flap
6.15 am  The tumes (people wearing costumes) try to get chicks out for training, but they resist
6.30 am  The chix are supposed to run-flap after the trike but after a lot of resisance (are chix on strike?),
 - the pilot walks - then they follow
6.39  They get the idea and flap
Tumes feed chix grapes or smelt (fish) to coax them
7 am training wrapped up - get chix back into pen

[shep]

July 5 - more
7 am  training ends


[attachment deleted by admin]

[shep]

July 6, 2015     Monday   Shepnotes 
wind, RAIN coming
5.30 am  The whooper chicks are in their wet pen, one gives his great wings a flap
6.15 am  The tumes (people wearing costumes) try to get chicks out for training
6.45  Meet n greet as the 2015 chix meet the trike with the wing
2 adult whoopers join them, tumes try to chase them off
They all parade, trike, chix behind tumes, led by adult cranes
There is too much wind with coming rain for training

Whoophill
In addition to the chicks above we have had the unexpected addition of the only known whoophill chick in Wisconsin. 16-11 (M) is currently paired with a sandhill female and their chick ?Whoopsie? is the first chick to be successfully hatched and reared at Horicon. Read more about Whoopsie
http://www.savingcranes.org/whats-new/2015/06/whoopsie-the-whooping-sandhill-crane-chick

WCEP Whooping Crane June Update
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/07/06/wceps-whooping-crane-update-for-june
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField

[shep]

The 2 young OM grads who showed up are 3-14 and 4-12
from 2014 and 2012
Video July 6 training - well .. sort of
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nuBO-C0KLUk
https://youtu.be/g_fcbpV87Yk

[shep]

July 7, 2015     Tuesday   Shepnotes 
you never know what you might see at dawn
6.30 am  training cancelled, too windy

OM blog and pictures
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2015/07/07/training-update-8

[shep]

July 8, 2015     Wenzday   Shepnotes 
Richard was the pilot today, 4 chicks came out of the pen.
There were supposed to be 7 OM chicks 2015 but one was sent elsewhere so we only have 6
The 2012 and 2014 cranes showed up again today and were pests

[baziunc]

Hi Shep.  Thanks for the OM updates and pics.    I usually follow OM at the OM site and see their pics/vids/daily reports, calendars, etc there, but I haven't gotten to it yet this year, so it's nice to get some of that from you here.

You said one of the 2015 chicks was sent elsewhere this year, leaving 6 for OM training this year.  Where was it sent, and why?  LOL... inquiring minds... lol. 

[shep]

July 9, 2015     Thurzday   Shepnotes 
Richard was the pilot again today, all 6 chicks came out of the pen.
The 2012 and 2014 cranes showed up again today and were pests,
today one of the 2015 chicks chased them away from the group!  Ahahaha!
I got a sweet pic of the WHOLE GANG!  Pilot, trike, tumes, chicks -
and the naughty adults they call wb for white birds

baz!  I am glad to see you here!
I know OM has their forum but there is so much they dont report

Chick #7 went to LA to expand the genetic diversity of that group

[baziunc]

Chick #7 went to LA to expand the genetic diversity of that group

Oh, that's good to know, Shep!  I was hoping it wasn't due to illness or injury.  That's a long way to go - hope the chick arrives safe sound there.

[shep]

Since OM is so concerned with DNA - I wondere how they feel about Whoopsie-
the chick of a Whooper and a Sandhill
WHOOPS
 

[baziunc]

Since OM is so concerned with DNA - I wondere how they feel about Whoopsie-
the chick of a Whooper and a Sandhill
WHOOPS
 

Yeah, that's a strange one, isn't it?  But it happened naturally, so what can you do?  They met, they liked (a lot), and they produced a chick.     I wonder if the Whoopsie is a sterile hybrid?  If so, there wouldn't be any impact on the gene pool, except that the Whooper and Sandhill crane parents wouldn't otherwise be contributing to the gene pools of their own kind.  But if the Whoopsie is capable of successful natural reproduction when paired with another Whooper, or Sandhill, then I guess that would fall to natural selection to determine how that goes over time.  But it's such a rare thing, I can't imagine it having any impact really.  Nature does have its oddities.

[shep]

July 10, 2015     Flyday   Shepnotes 
7 am  trike flew in - fog delay - lotta honking from WBs greets Richard the pilot
2 chicks eager to go, 2 more strolled out, finally the last 2 were lured outta their wet pen

The chicks are 5 girls and a boy
#1  green
#2  black they called him Forest cuz he wanders into the bush
#6 yellow is aggressive - da B- of the group
#8  light blue
#10 white is chicken
#11 dark blue band is the only MALE in the group (cohort)
I dont know at what age they call the chicks - colts

pic -  Chicks are training the pilot

Trikes n tumes n cranes - O MY!
July 8, 2015 training
adult cranes, sandhill cranes
https://youtu.be/EEWvL71Pjgw

July 9, 2015 training
https://youtu.be/lByVazI2vJs

Keith posts the training videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/QhQnmS

Whoopsie
Everything you wanna know - almost - for now
hybrid of a male Whooping Crane and a female Sandhill Crane
http://www.savingcranes.org/whats-new/2015/06/whoopsie-the-whooping-sandhill-crane-chick

[baziunc]

Whoopsie
Everything you wanna know - almost - for now
hybrid of a male Whooping Crane and a female Sandhill Crane
http://www.savingcranes.org/whats-new/2015/06/whoopsie-the-whooping-sandhill-crane-chick

Excellent article! on Whoopsie, the Whoophill - the hybrid offspring of a Whooping Crane and a Sandhill Crane.

Thanks, Shep.