Index:
– Daily Updates on the Class of 2003 First Migration
– 2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – October
– 2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 1
– 2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 9
– 2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 17
– 2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 24
– Spring Migration Update
Daily Updates on the Class of 2003 First
Migration
2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – October
October 2003 Update
Provided by the International Crane Foundation:
R. P. Urbanek, L. E. A. Fondow, and C. D. Satyshur
Summary of the whereabouts of the 20 whooping cranes from the 2001 and 2002 reintroductions:
· Fifteen of the cranes are in or near Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, which is the Core Reintroduction Area.· One whooping crane is at Horicon NWR· Three cranes are near the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois· The whereabouts of one whooping crane is unknown
Activities of 2001 cranes
No. 1—Remained at Necedah NWR, usually roosted with two adult sandhills and their chick, and sometimes with larger numbers of sandhills.
No. 2—Returned to Necedah NWR October 23
No. 5—Roosting in central Wisconsin wetlands with Nos. 4 and 18 from 2002
No. 6—Has not been found since leaving Necedah NWR on May 10. At that timehis transmitter had a broken antenna, so its operation is at best poor.
No. 7—Last reported Oct. 11 at Horicon NWR. Vegetation and lack of functional transmitter make it hard to track her.
Activities of 2002 cranes:
No. 1—Remained with a staging flock of about 200 sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin
No. 2—Associated with sandhills in central Wisconsin along with No. 13.
No. 3—Remained in northeastern Iowa with No. 15
No. 4—Roosted in central Wisconsin wetlands along with No. 5 from 2001 and No. 18 from 2002.
No. 5—At Necedah NWR with Nos. 8, 16 and 17 from 2002 and No. 2 from 2001
No. 8—Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 16, 17 and No. 2 from 2001.
No. 9—Foraged with sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin on October 19; on the 20th she moved to a cranberry reservoir with a small number of sandhills, and then returned to roost on Necedah NWR.No. 11—Roosting on Necedah NWR with No. 12
No. 12—Roosting on Necedah NWR with No. 11
No. 13—Associated with sandhills in central Wisconsin along with No. 2
No. 14—Remained on Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in northwest Illinois
No. 15—Remained in northeastern Iowa with No. 3
No. 16—Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 8, 17 and No. 2 from 2001.
No. 17—Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 8, 16 and No. 2 from 2002
No. 18—Roosted in central Wisconsin wetlands with No. 5 from 2001 and No. 4 from 2002
2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 1
Provided by the International Crane Foundation:
R. P. Urbanek, L. E. A. Fondow, and C. D. Satyshur
Summary of the whereabouts of the 20 whooping cranes from the 2001 and 2002 reintroductions:
Sixteen of the whooping cranes are in or near Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, which is the Core Reintroduction Area.
One whooping crane is at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge
Three cranes are near the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois:
Activities of 2001 cranes:
No. 1-Remained at Necedah NWR, sometimes with other whooping cranes, but most often alone or with sandhills.
No. 2-Remained at Necedah NWR with a large group of sandhill cranes.
No. 5-Roosting in central Wisconsin wetlands with Nos. 4 and 18 from 2002
No. 6-Confirmed sighting in a staging flock of some 400 sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin.
No. 7-Last reported Oct. 11 at Horicon NWR. Vegetation and lack of functional transmitter make it hard to track her.
Activities of 2002 cranes:
No. 1-Remained with a staging flock of about 200 sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin
No. 2-Associated with sandhills in central Wisconsin along with No. 13.
No. 3-Remained in northeastern Iowa with No. 15
No. 4-Roosted in central Wisconsin wetlands along with No. 5 from 2001 and No. 18 from 2002.
No. 5-At Necedah NWR with Nos. 8, 16 and 17 from 2002 and No. 2 from 2001
No. 8-Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 16, 17 and No. 2 from 2001.
No. 9-Foraged with sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin on October 19; on the 20th she moved to a cranberry reservoir with a small number of sandhills, and then returned to roost on Necedah NWR.
No. 11-Roosting on Necedah NWR with No. 12
No. 12-Roosting on Necedah NWR with No. 11
No. 13-Associated with sandhills in central Wisconsin along with No. 2
No. 14-Remained on Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in northwest Illinois
No. 15-Remained in northeastern Iowa with No. 3
No. 16-Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 8, 17 and No. 2 from 2001.
No. 17-Remained at Necedah with Nos. 5, 8, 16 and No. 2 from 2001.
No. 18-Roosted in central Wisconsin wetlands with No. 5 from 2001 and No. 4 from 2002.
2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 9
Provided by the International Crane Foundation:
R. P. Urbanek, L. E. A. Fondow, and C. D. Satyshur
Summary of the whereabouts of the 20 whooping cranes from the 2001 and 2002 reintroductions:
Nine of the whooping cranes have started their southern migration
Eleven of the whooping cranes are in or near Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, which is the Core Reintroduction Area.
One whooping crane remained on Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in northwest Illinois
Activities of 2001 cranes:
No. 1-Along with No. 7 and No. 1 (2002) is staging with large number of sandhills in northwest Indiana.
No. 2-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 5, 4 (’02), 5 (’02), 9 (’02), and 18 (’02).
No. 5-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 2, 4 (’02), 5 (’02), 9 (’02), and 18 (’02).
No. 6- Remained with a staging flock of some 400 sandhill cranes in central Wisconsin.
No. 7-Along with No. 1 (2001) and No. 1 (2002) is staging with large number of sandhills in northwest Indiana.
Activities of 2002 cranes:
No. 1-Along with No. 7 and No. 1 (2001) is staging with large number of sandhills in northwest Indiana.
No. 2-Along with No. 13, they are no longer associating with sandhills but have flown to southwest Indiana.
No. 3-Migrating with with No. 15. Landed in southwestern Illinois.
No. 4-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 2 (’01), 5 (’01), 5, 9, and 18.
No. 5-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 2 (’01), 5 (’01), 4, 9, and 18.
No. 8-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 11, 12, 16, and 17.
No. 9-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 2 (’01), 5 (’01), 4, 5, and 18.
No. 11-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 8, 12, 16, and 17.
No. 12-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 8, 11, 16, and 17.
No. 13-Along with No. 2, they are no longer associating with sandhills but have flown to southwest Indiana.
No. 14-Remained on Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in northwest Illinois
No. 15-Migrating with No. 3. Landed in southwestern Illinois.
No. 16-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 8, 11, 12, and 17.
No. 17-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 8, 11, 12, and 16.
No. 18-Roosted with large number of staging sandhills on the ice at Necedah NWR. Along with Nos. 2 (’01), 5 (’01), 4, 5, and 9.
2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 17
Provided by the International Crane Foundation:
R. P. Urbanek, L. E. A. Fondow, and C. D. Satyshur
Three of the 20 whooping cranes from the reintroductions conducted in 2001 and 2002 have completed their southern migration to Florida. Female cranes Nos. 3 (’02) and 15 (’02) arrived at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 16th. Whooping crane No. 1 (’01) returned to Florida – close to where he spent last winter.
2003 Fall Activity of the 2001 and 2002 Cohorts – November 24
Provided by the International Crane Foundation:
R. P. Urbanek, L. E. A. Fondow, and C. D. Satyshur
Eleven whooping cranes are near the pensite at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida (whooping crane no.s 2-01, 5-01, 4-02, 5-02, 8-02, 9-02, 11-02, 12-02, 16-02, 17-02, and 18-02)
Five whooping cranes are in Florida but not at Chassahowitzka Refuge: No.s 2-02 and 13-02; Nos. 3-02 and 15-02; and 1-01.
Numbers 7-01 and 1-02 have been with thousands of staging/wintering sandhills at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Tennessee.
Number 6-01 is at Jasper-Pulaski in Indiana.
Whooping crane No. 14-02 is the only whooping crane that has not begun its migration. It is with a staging sandhill flock at Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Illinois.
April 9, 2003 – Spring Migration Update
All of our whooping cranes are either in Wisconsin or migrating so their locations change rapidly. As of this morning
There are 5 birds from the 2001 Flock:
* one arrived in Wisconsin in March and is foraging in wetlands and old cornfields
* two arrived back at Necedah NWR on April 1
* one is migrating north with last year’s flock. He’s presently in central Indiana.
* one is unaccounted for, last seen in central Indiana on 17 March.
There are 16 birds from the 2002 Flock:
* 14 are migrating en route to WI; this morning (April 8) they are in central Indiana, possibly staying there awhile due to weather conditions.
* one migrating: last stop (April 7 ) in Kentucky.
* one migrating: last located (April 6) in Georgia.
