Nation & World: Sunday, November 24, 2002
Whooping crane finds its way home for winter
By Jessica Hansen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE — A historic effort to re-establish a migratory whooping crane population in North America came full circle this week when trackers confirmed that one bird had completed the first north-south migration cycle without human help.
After being led from Wisconsin to Florida by an ultralight plane last year, five whooping cranes made an unguided flight in the spring back to Wisconsin.
But some worried that without a guide, the birds' southern migration would not lead them back to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. The crane's arrival Thursday dispelled nagging questions about whether instinct would be enough to guide them to their winter home.
"This is a hallmark," said Shawn Gillette, a spokesman for the Florida refuge. "This is the first bird from last year's clutch to return. In a sense, it's a completion of the first solo migration cycle."
The bird's unaided arrival in Florida is the latest milestone in the decades-long effort to save the rarest of Earth's 15 crane species. An international coalition of public and private groups working to re-establish the whooping crane in eastern North America. The goal is to establish a self-sustaining flock of at least 25 nesting pairs of whooping cranes in Wisconsin in the summer, spending winters in Florida.
Last month, 17 whooping cranes from a separate flock left Wisconsin in the second ultralight aircraft-led migration to Florida's Gulf Coast.
No. 7 was so named for her place in the pecking order of her original eight-member flock. But many began calling her a "straggler" last year after she broke from her flock over Tennessee and made a two-week pit stop in southern Wisconsin before returning to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.
The bird's creative flight plan worried biologists. Once No. 7 was safely home in Wisconsin, trackers and biologists could breathe a bit easier, but doubts remained about the return flight to Florida.
"The one thing that we don't want to lull the public into thinking is that it's a given that last year's birds will return to the same spot," Gillette said. "Our hope was that they would find a spot along the Florida coast. So, we're ecstatic that she not only returned to the Florida coast but came back to the refuge."
No. 7 may be the first of her flock to arrive in Florida, but the four remaining whoopers from the Class of 2001 are hot on her tail feathers.
As of Friday, the last two birds to leave Wisconsin had been spotted in Indiana. Both birds left the Necedah refuge Thursday, said Rich King, a refuge biologist. Two other birds from the original flock have been seen in Illinois.
"They're slowly making their way down, but No. 7 is an independent lady," Gillette joked. "She wanted to lead the pack." Now that she's back at her winter retreat, trackers and biologists hope No. 7 will be able to help the next group of cranes undertake migration.
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