Whooping Crane Family-Part VII

Happy reunion!

When the chick's health check was complete (see Nov 1 post), he was released again to his parents and immediately ran to the water to escape.

Adult whooping cranes are wading birds, but their young are capable of swimming as a natural defense against predation. One of the many important functions of wetlands to this species, whooping cranes build their nests on elevated platforms in the water, making the chick less vulnerable to predation from the shore. Adult whooping cranes also roost in water so that the sound of a splash can wake them if a predator approaches.

The two-day old chick you see here could swim much faster than he could run in the grass. As the chick matures, his legs will rapidly grow taller and the webs on his feet will disappear. Below the male stands guard as the female forages for food to feed the chick.

Still stressed, the chick initially swam rapidly around the open water. The female gains his attention and offers food. Feeding helps to restore calm to the family.

She watches as he swallows the food she offered him.
The chick soon climbs out of the water and is surrounded by attentive parents eager to feed and sooth him.
Throughout my observations, attentiveness was evident in the way the parents stayed close to their chick, watched over him and offered him food, tirelessly and without pause. I enjoy the larger images that show habitat, that offer a larger understanding of the species ecology and the story of their lives. And then there are the close ups, the images that allow you to see into their eyes, to look more deeply into the bond between parent and chick. (Have I ever mentioned how much I love photography?) Within a short time, former peace is restored to the whooping crane family and the parents return to a tranquil pace of foraging and feeding their young chick.
Don't miss the whooping crane chick video! Click the link to see the entire Whooping Crane Family series (start at the bottom where it begins!) Also check out the whooping crane ultralight migration and the whooping crane's recovery.
Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #10, at Birdfreak.com, raising bird conservation awareness.

Whooping Crane Family--Part VI

When peace is disturbed.
For several hours, on the morning of the whooping crane chick's second day, I was alone in the exhibit observation area at the International Crane Foundation.
The parents' attentive behavior, fluid movements and purring brood calls soothed me into a peaceful state as securely as it bonded them with their chick. (see chick video)
Deeply absorbed in this tranquil scene, my reaction was nothing short of alarm when suddenly the parents launched their heads into the air and began a guard call.
This was immediately followed by a frenzy of activity.
Below you see the reason for the disturbance.
Notice the tiny chick begins to swim to escape the intruders. This is part of the natural protection that wetlands provide the young. Though these new parents practiced rearing a sandhill crane chick during the previous year and had proven themselves to be good parents, every whooping crane chick is valuable to the survival of the species. Aviculturalists in captive programs must periodically check the health of the chick to insure that it is gaining weight and free of disease or developmental malformations.
In the photo above, notice the head-down threat posture of the male in front. The red patch of bare skin on the top of a whooping crane's head is important to its communication. When excited or disturbed, the whooping crane can engorge this patch with blood to make it brighter and larger.
Above you see the patch in a calm state.
And here you see another crane who is agitated and has engorged the skin patch.
The patch-forward posture of his head is a warning of more aggression to come if not heeded.

With its large size, razor sharp beak, the ability to jump and rake intruders with sharp claws and a tenacious temperament, the whooping crane is a formidable opponent.

Two handlers hold brooms in a manner that will keep the parents at a safe distance while a third positions himself to grab the chick. Needless to say, the parents did not win this skirmish and the chick was safely scooped up and wisked away for its health examination.

What followed touched me deeply. An empty silence engulfed the wetland. It was impossible for me to discern whether I was feeling anthromorphic empathy or sensing a loss that is universally shared among parents prematurely separated from their young.

The parents resumed their purring contact calls and stayed close to each other. Above the male stands tall and stretches his wings to demonstrate his size.

The parents reclaim their territory and reinforce their pair bond with a unison call.

Next: The family's reunion.
Click the following links to see the entire Whooping Crane Family series and to learn about the ultralight migration project that has helped re-introduce whooping cranes to eastern North America.

Fledged Plumage

We refer to fledged whooping crane chicks as "juveniles". It is always heart-warming for me to see these beautifully marked, graceful juveniles flying, but astounding to hear their tiny voices calling, “peep, peep”. Despite their enormous size, they don't acquire their adult voices until nearly one year of age. The 2008 ultralight migration class of whooping crane fledglings is on its way to wintering grounds in Florida. Whooping cranes are naturally soaring birds that ride thermals and can make this voyage in as little as nine days. But while these juveniles are learning the migration route, they will only fly in the early morning hours before the thermals rise and while the air is very calm. This is because their surrogate parents are ultralights with costume-clad pilots.

Instead of soaring, they will flap their wings and glide, using the vortices from the ultralight wing for lift, or the slight lift from the wings of the bird just in front of them to aid their flight.

The ultralight migration is now located in Wisconsin and has been grounded a few days due to unfavorable winds for ultralight flying. But some recent photos have been posted that will give you an awesome look at the beautiful plumage of the juveniles, and give you an idea of what its like when the juveniles are let out of their safe enclosure for exercise. You will also see the baggy white costumes worn by pilots and handlers alike, that disguise the human figure enough that our juvenile "ultracranes" do not become accustomed to or feel safe around humans.

To follow the ultralight migration and its daily ups and downs, visit the Operation Migration field journal. For more of my posts on the ultralight migration, click here.

In my next post I will show you why whooping cranes are not backyard birds.

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly #9, at Birdfreak.com, a weekly photography bird listing to promote bird conservation

The First Whooping Crane Arrives

The first migrating whooping crane arrived at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on October 20th, completing its 2400-mile journey from the Northwest Territory of Canada to wintering grounds on the gulf coast of Texas. Tom Stehn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Whooping Crane Coordinator, expects the next influx of migrants to arrive with a cold front that is expected today.
Whooping cranes do not migrate in large flocks of family groups as do sandhill cranes, but rather, they travel in single family units, as solitary individuals or in small bachelor groups.
Subadults that have been driven away by their parents to make room for the next generation of offspring join up in small groups of males and females called bachelor groups. Whooping cranes require 4-5 years to reach breeding maturity. These subadult groupings provide companionship, potential mates and more safety as the young cranes gain survival experience.

Click these links for more about whooping cranes, the whooping crane family, whooping crane chick video and whooping crane ultralight migration.

Each of Us Creates the World

I have visited several blogs recently that have touched me deeply, both with their stories and with the passion of the authors. Visit the recent posts of Orca Watcher on Lolita, A Whale of a Purpose on the Beluga Whales and Creative Freedom Photography on the Giant Panda and you will feel touched, as well, by the dedication and enthusiasm.

Progress is created one person at a time, and the collective voice of individuals creates a momentum of awareness that is more powerful than the wind and the ocean combined.

I am reading Natalie Goldberg’s book, Wild Mind, Living the Writer’s Life. I’m reading it for several reasons, one of which is to stay connected to what I learned and felt at Rose Mountain. But I also read it to go deep. It settles my mind from the day, from whatever is bothersome and troubling on the surface, and from whatever seems insurmountable. Not that reading solves any of these problems. I’m borrowing another deep thinking mind for a while to encourage my own. These are the mentors and the teachers we find in good literature.

In her chapter, “The Dead Year” which is about hard beginnings, Natalie Goldberg writes:
I often say to myself now when writing is hard, “There is no such thing as failure.” The only failure in writing is when you stop doing it. Then you fail yourself. You affirm your resistance. Don’t do that. Let the outside world scream at you. Create an inner world of determination. When someone complained about getting up at five a.m. for sitting meditation, Katagori Roshi said, “Make positive effort for the good.” I repeat that often to myself when pushing the pen across the page feels like I, alone, have the responsibility to make the earth turn around the sun. Well, it’s true. Each of us does create the world. We’d better get to work.

She is writing about her love, writing. I read about writing and I see and hear everything that matters. I hear whales and orcas, and the gentle pandas, and I hear the whooping crane purring to its young. Despite decades of efforts to save the wild migrating population of whooping cranes that winter on the gulf coast of Texas, they are currently being threatened again by the potential development of key marshlands on their wintering grounds and by a new push for cleaner energy that seeks to erect wind turbines in the migration corridor of the most endangered crane in the world without responsibility to confer with wildlife experts on safe co-existence.

There are so many challenges ahead of us. Enough challenges for every single person to make a contribution. Every one of us “better get to work.”

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.

A Tail Bracing Party

I visited one of my favorite places yesterday, Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I was certainly not alone. It was Columbus Day holiday for many, the last day of a four-day weekend AND fall break for the university and area schools. So...

it was a wee bit crowded! But that tells us all how much we love our wild places and how important it is to save as many of them as we can.
The party began when I pulled off the road and took a quiet walk in the woods. I happened upon an area with several dead upright trunks fairly peppered with every size hole imaginable. It felt as though I had just entered a woodpecker dining hall.Within minutes a yellow-bellied sapsucker joined me. He didn't stay long, but I got to see his tail brace in action. The sapsucker is a resident of the park but is described as "seldom seen" until the northern migrants start coming through after the end of September. Then they are more easily seen in the lower elevations. Wouldn't you just love to know what's happening on the other side of that trunk? The next visitor practically landed on my head--a male red-bellied woodpecker. I was standing inches from the tree he selected which made photography a challenge. But woodpeckers are flighty characters and I enjoyed the few minutes he did stay. You don't get this angle very often and I must say, its the closest I've ever been to a woodpecker. I love his white petticoat-style tail that drapes over the black bracing feathers. You just can't get the full effect of this from field guides.
The white-breasted nuthatch isn't a woodpecker at all, but he fit right into this parade. I heard his 'yank, yank' calls and saw him at a distance before he landed on the other side of this trunk about six feet away. I focused the camera on the trunk, knowing he would pop around to my side at any second. And he did! He gave me these two shots. Don't you just love them? What a treat.

I love this sort of experience. All we have to do is find a quiet place and keep still for a short while and nature will show us her amazing creatures.

The trees are about two weeks away from peak color in the mountains but the forests and meadows are overflowing with a bounty of nuts, cherries, berries and seeds. A rich harvest is spread for busy wildlife, and for us, a beautiful and peaceful place is waiting any time of the year.