Whooping Cranes

   The weather has not been great for walks in nature so I thought I'd

post some old columns.

  

        A step back in time: below is an entry from my personal journal in 2007. 

   Oct.28^th Today’s adventure started early last spring in Necedah at the National Wildlife Refuge with the arrival of this year’s batch of seventeen Whooping Crane chicks. Last night I had a call from a friend saying that she had been checking the Refuge website. We were aware that the migration flights had started and that they had been in the Baraboo area for the past few days. It looked like Sunday morning the weather would be good for them to take to the sky and move farther south. I called Jean Clausen and she had heard from Barb Barzen saying she would keep us informed as to when they would be leaving. Later that evening when I checked my emails I had one from a woman I had met that worked with Operation Migration, telling me the same information. I also had one from Jean stating that I should be ready for a call around 6:00 am. Sure enough, the call came at about 6:15. We should be at the Ferry Bluff pull-off by a little after 7:00 am. It was one of the coldest mornings this fall and foggy. I stopped along River Road and took a picture of Ferry Bluff, shrouded in fog. The fog was rising from the river and Honey Creek, leaving the very top of the bluff open to the sky. A more adventurous group was going to hike to Cactus Bluff to watch the ultralights lead the juvenile cranes to their next site in Green County. Short trips are made in the beginning because of weather conditions and the young cranes have yet to get the strength for long flights. That will change after a few trips in the air. When I pulled off Highway 60 there were a couple of cars with their passengers inside, waiting and staying warm. By this time the sun was burning off the low-lying fog, but Ferry Bluff was still engulfed. Soon Jean and her daughter arrived with information that we should walk back east along the highway to position ourselves across from the valley on the north side. The camera equipment of the others made mine look inadequate but I was ready and would be happy with whatever I could get. Soon we heard the faintest hum and an ultralight appeared over the ridge. This was the first of four. There at the tips of each wing were three young cranes following mom. They flew almost directly over us. WOW!!! They made a slight turn west and flew by Ferry Bluff, still in the fog. The second and third ultralight each had four birds in tow. The fourth had one tagging along behind it. This took until about 9:15. As for the last two cranes, they didn’t want to fly today so they were given a ride to the next stop. I guess this isn’t unusual in the first stages of the flight to Florida. In past years my friend and her husband had them fly over their prairie so they stayed home and hoped this would be true again this year. As luck would have it they had better viewing than the group on Cactus Bluff (the fog left them with only glimpses).

   This awesome scene will no longer be repeated in the autumn skies. I was lucky enough to witness it twice before the ultralight program of the Whooping Crane reintroduction to the Eastern United States was moved. It was started at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in 2001, and after being met with some environmental problems, it was moved to White River Marsh State Wildlife Area after a number of years. The ultralight program was successful in teaching the young birds the route to Florida. They then made the return trip to Wisconsin on their own or in the company of other wild cranes.

     Because of the environment obstacles at the nesting sites the decision has been made to end the ultralight program. However Operation Migration, along with many other agencies, will continue the work to bring these majestic birds back to the numbers that will insure their survival for generations to come. It's a daunting task but the work reestablishing bald eagle populations proves it can be done.

We'll not see the ultralights and their wing-mates again but the Operation Migration mantra hits the mark.  

                       “It's about the birds.”