Sept. 26 - 29, 200

by Kim Mitchell

Necedah National Wildlife Refuge hosted a Whooping Crane Reintroduction donor recognition event on Wednesday, Sept. 26 and a public event on Sept. 29. About 585 people were able to watch the ultralights lead the whooping cranes over a marsh that is adjacent to the Refuge headquarters. It was exhilirating to watch these birds and realize that some day there will be wild whooping cranes in Wisconsin!

One crane that had been hesitant to fly with the rest of the flock had been isolated in a separate area. During their regular training on Thursday morning, this crane was brought back to the main flock and the entire flock followed the ultralights during the first flight of the morning.

During the second flight, some of the cranes returned to their pen soon after the planes took off. It is expected that as training continues, the flock will stay together and for longer periods of time. Biologists and pilots training the flock view this training period as analagous to spring training for football teams. Only the birds that are most likely to succeed will be allowed go on the fall migration.

Last updated: May 7, 2009