Whooping Crane Family--Part V

Wetland Buffet. Considered omnivores, whooping cranes spend most of their time walking and foraging for food. While many of the foods they eat are found in wetland areas, they also eat seeds, berries, grains and nuts found in fields, prairies, savannas and uplands.
Whooping crane parents bring their chick a variety of foods to teach him what to eat and provide the nourishment he needs for rapid growth.At ICF's Amoco Whooping Crane Exhibit, I watched as the male presented the chick with a food item, such as this whole crayfish, then dropped it to the ground and broke it into smaller pieces before offering it to him to eat.


A tadpole?The offering below appears to be a minnow. (You have to look closely.)

The chick above is two days old. While most young birds must mature rapidly in order to fledge in time for migration, the whooping crane chick has a long way to grow, from four inches to the nearly five feet he achieves before fledging.Here you see the same chick at four weeks (above and below). Photos by Richard Van Heuvelen, sculptor and pilot for Operation Migration .
And below, you see the chick at eight weeks. Photo by Sara Zimorski, aviculturists at ICF.
A young whooping crane chick may grow an average of one inch per day and be ready to fledge sometime between 78-90 days of age. Migration begins mid to late October for most whooping cranes. The juveniles below were photographed in late September and each practice flight increases their strength, endurance and skill at coordinating their seven-foot wing span.

Aren't they amazing?!
And just three months ago, they looked like this...

This year's fledgling class of re-introduced whooping cranes are scheduled to begin their ultralight-led migration on Oct 17, weather permitting. To read the daily progress of these young whooping cranes who will fly from Wisconsin to Florida on their first migration, visit Operation Migration's field journal. Youth and teachers will also enjoy Journey North's informative pages and updates on the migration.

Click here to watch the whooping crane chick video. To see all my Whooping Crane Family posts, click here. A special thanks to the International Crane Foundation (ICF) for the opportunity to view this family and to Sarah and Richard for sharing their photos.