Whooping Cranes

At

Gridley, Illinois

April 6-12, 2009

Whooping Cranes at Gridley

April 6, 2009 6 of the approximately 400 endangered whooping crane species

landed to rest a mile east of Gridley near the Don Radke residense. They stopped in an early April snow storm. There were five males and one female in the flock.

One of the males suffered a broken leg. It was taken to the U of I recovery center

where it died later in the week.

The five remaining cranes spent nearly a week feeding in the fields around the Radke home.

They roamed his yard

and the nearby fields.

These five young cranes are part of 14 that were led from Wisconsin to Florida

last fall by an ultra light plane.

These five young cranes are part of 14 that were led from Wisconsin to Florida

last fall by an ultra light plane.

They are flying back to Wisconsin for the summer.

The whooping crane is white in color. It has a black face and red on the top

of its bill.

There is black on the tips of its wings.

The crane is 5 feet tall.

It’s wing span is over 8 feet.

It is very hard to tell the male from the female whooping crane.

Each bird has a radio monitor

Each bird has a radio monitor

With an antenna —›

Each bird has a radio monitor

With an antenna —›

‹— and a tag with an identification number.

They dined on Illinois corn

and small living organisms in the water.

The cranes were always eating

and eating

and eating!

They flap their wings

and jump up in the air

as a sign of courtship.

They will raise themselves completely off the ground in this ritual.

They were not afraid of humans.

As we looked at them,

As we looked at them,

They liked to look back at us.

We just had to be quiet

We just had to be quiet

so that we did not scare them.

The people from Operation Migration are afraid they will get too friendly with people

The people from Operation Migration are afraid they will get too friendly with people

and be injured or killed.

The cranes went about their business

of eating and eating,

until they left Gridley at 10:20 A.M. on Easter Sunday for their summer home in

Necedah, Wisconsin.

We wish them well.

Come see us again!