Six whooping cranes lifted off at 8:55 a.m. eastern standard time this morning from Meigs county, Tennessee and entered Gordon county, Georgia at 10:40 a.m. These majestic birds, the largest in North America, have been traveling since October 17, when they left Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. They are following an ultralight plane that is teaching them a route that will encompass 1,250 miles to eventually arrive at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Citrus County, Florida.
The birds reached the halfway point on November 9, 2001 when they landed safely in Cumberland County, TN. Eight birds began this historic trip and six continue to fly each day. No. 3 died after flying into a power line the night of October 24 when the pen partially collapsed during extremely high winds in Green County, Wisconsin. Bird No. 4 dropped out halfway to the first stopover site and was retrieved later that afternoon. He has since been transported on the ground to each stopover site where he is released into the overnight pen with the other cranes. He flew with the flock for a short period in La Salle County, Illinois, for exercise and to try to assess his ability to follow the aircraft, but weather conditions have not yet been suitable to try him on another migration leg. The migration team thus has seven birds with them, six routinely flying with the ultralights.
"We are extremely pleased to see the migration going so well and to have these historic residents of the southeast back home again, " said Sam Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The reintroduction is part of an ongoing recovery effort for the highly imperiled species, which was on the verge of extinction in the 1940s and even today numbers only about 260 birds in the wild. The continents only migratory population of whooping cranes winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast and is vulnerable to a catastrophic event such as a major hurricane, disease or oil spill. This reintroduction would not only restore the whooper to part of its historic range but also provide another geographically distinct migratory population that could lead to downlisting and eventual recovery.
In 1998, a coalition of state and federal governments and the private sector formed the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership to coordinate and fund last years sandhill crane study and this years whooping crane study. Over 35 private landowners have volunteered their property as stopover sites for the cranes and migration team. A temporary pen keeps the cranes safe from predators between each mornings flight. The migration is expected to take from five to seven weeks.
"We are proud to be a partner in this exciting effort to restore this magnificent bird to Georgia
