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Operation Migration 2014 (1 Viewer)

October 6, 2014

The pre-dawn morning looked good for training.

Here in camp, before sunrise, conditions seem decent for at least a training flight. Winds aloft are currently light and less than 5mph, however, they’re from the direction we would like to go to begin the 2014 migration and they’re expected to increase slightly at sunrise.

We’re hoping that we can get one more training flight in with #4-14 to allow him to enjoy the benefit of the aircraft wing vortices – perhaps today is the day.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/06/october-6-2014/
Click to expand...

It wasn’t the temperature. It wasn’t rain. It wasn’t a low ceiling. It wasn’t fog. It wasn’t the wind. It wasn’t that there was no training.

The Best Laid Plans

Our plan this morning was foiled – this time not as much by the weather as by two hard-headed Whooper hoodlums who refused to leave the training site.

When Tom Schultz, Colleen Chase and Geoff Tarbox arrived on site they were greeted by our two former students from 2012 – numbers 4 & 5-12. It seems they wanted to stick around this morning, which is odd considering they’ve not disrupted training at all this year. Why this morning I wonder?

Brooke was able to fly a few circuits with our six female cranes, while the only male, number 4-14 stayed in the pen protesting but they were clearly distracted by the presence of the two older cranes standing on the training strip below.

Once they were back inside the enclosure, Peanut/#4-14 was let out to fly. Unfortunately, the two hoodlums stayed on the runway, still serving as a distraction. 4-14 did fly but not for very long before he too was lead back inside the crane enclosure.

[See] some images that Colleen managed to capture through the peephole in the pen.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/06/the-best-laid-plans/
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“Why this morning I wonder?”

Being somewhat of a bird brain, I don’t. 4 & 5-12 know it’s time to go, and who do they trust? From whom did they learn? Who’s their daddy?
 
October 7: It appears that there will be no more training sessions; and the next time there is a window of opportunity, the destination will be the first stopover, located five miles further south in Green Lake County.

Wind

Winds are currently from the southwest at 9 mph – too strong to allow us to begin the 2014 southward aircraft-guided Whooping crane migration.

They are forecast to swing around from a northerly direction later this week and if they do, we’ll be taking advantage of the tailwind… provided they’re not too strong.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/07/wind-2/
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October 8: Today, to no surprise, was a down day..;

While we’re standing outside observing the lunar eclipse we can feel the breeze beginning to increase. It’s expected to grow to a healthy 12mph from the west-southwest by 9am, putting a halt to any migration plans.

Tomorrow, and for the next two days it’s supposed to swing around to come from a northerly direction.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/08/down-today/
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…and although I am very anxious to see the class of 2014 get going and eventually reach their Florida destination, today, I learned about something that I am quite anticipating to see: we might get to see some of the kids on TV.

I doubt very few aren’t aware of Mike Rowe and his former role as host and narrator on the hit show Dirty Jobs. Well, now Mike has a new gig – as host and narrator on ‘Somebody’s Gotta Do It,’ which will be aired on CNN and which premieres tonight at 9pm ET.

What’s exciting to us is that the Whooping crane reintroduction will be featured in the second episode, airing next Wednesday evening. Mike and crew visited the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center this past spring when the Class of 2014 had just hatched. [See pic]
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/08/somebodys-gotta-do-it/
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October 10: Today Was the Day

It was 8:10AM White River Marsh time, and via CraneCam, I watched an ultralight swoop into view. The pen door was swung open; and six young Whooping Cranes emerged with wings up, flapping, and just generally looking very anxious to fly.

According to my clock, It was still 8:10AM when the ultralight took to the air with all six cranes following in the ascent.

Minutes later, one could see that one of the cranes had returned to the pen area. It just meandered around in front of the pen door, picking at the grass.

At 8:34AM, chatters got word that the ultralight had flown the five mile distance to the first stopover.

At 8:38AM, again an ultralight arrived at the pen site. After a couple of failed takeoff attempts, and with a little help from the swamp monster (a human dressed in a blue costume rather the customary white,) the recalcitrant crane decided to take off with the ultralight.

At 8:53AM, yet again, an ultralight arrived at the pen area. Again, the pen door was swung open, and out came another crane. It only flew a few feet on the first run, but at 8:59AM, it left the scene, flying behind the ultralight.

Come what may, the migration was under way.

Today Is the Day!

At 8:11am CDT Joe Duff launched with six of our seven young Whooping cranes from White River Marsh SWA in Green Lake County, Wisconsin. The plan was to fly the six girls then return for #4-14, our lone male crane and fly him on his own, which would give him a better opportunity to ride the vortices that spill off the trailing edge of the aircraft wing.

After a couple of circuits, one crane dropped off and landed in front of the pen site. Colleen let me know via text message that it was #9-14. Joe continued on to the first stop, with Richard flying in the chase position, while Brooke and Walter rode below them in the tracking van.

About 2 miles out, another crane fell back so Richard moved in to pick up this one, which turned out to be #8-14, while Joe continued on. The two pilots managed to get these five into the pen, which was already setup and waiting for them, before returning to the White River Marsh site to try to fly numbers 4-14 & 9-14.

Richard arrived first in the new aircraft and with assistance from Swamp Monster (aka Jo-Anne Bellemer in a tarp), convinced #9-14 that it was time to leave. He flew over our heads at the public flyover site, with about 20 people silently cheering him on.

Next Joe flew in and launched with number 4-14 (aka Peanut). By this time it was starting to get a bit trashy over the treetops and the young crane was having a hard time keeping up to the aircraft. He did manage to fly for 7 minutes, which is the longest he’s flown in more than a month, but he was unable to continue to the first stopover. Peanut will begin his first-ever migration in a crate unfortunately.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/10/today-is-the-day/
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October 11: Initial Reports Indicate Blood and Sweat..,

…but, so far, no tears.

2nd Day Not as Pretty as the 1st!

In a nutshell, here’s what happened this morning. We’re still not finished and I’m typing this on my phone from a cow pasture. Enjoy the typos!

2,7,9,10 returned to Wrm [(White River Marsh)]! Doug and Heather convinced them to go inside the pen while Joe and Walter prepared crates. This group of four will be delivered to the second migration stop.

4-14 landed at our stop 2 site and may have banged his his (sic) right leg, perhaps on barbed wire fencing as he has an abrasion and some bleeding in addition to a limp.

After about an hour Colleen reported he was no longer limping and the bleeding had stopped.

3, 8 were flown back to the 2nd stop to await crating, along with 4.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/11/2nd-day-not-as-pretty-as-the-1st/
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October 11: Updated Version of Today’s Chaos

UPDATED – to correct typos/stop number and to add a few details and photos. Note – today is (still) very busy so there will be no lead pilot report.

In a nutshell, here’s what happened this morning.

Whooping cranes 2, 7, 9 & 10-14 returned to the White River Marsh pensite! *Note: This has never happened in the past 13 seasons. Typically, once we get them away from ‘home’ they don’t head back – especially flying into a headwind as they had to this morning.

Doug and Heather convinced them to go inside the pen (no small feat considering we had no grapes or cranberries AND there was no topnet on the pen) while Joe and Walter prepared crates in the parking lot. This group of four was delivered to the second migration stop in Marquette County, Wisconsin. (While Doug and I were walking briskly to the pensite, I whispered to Doug that we had removed the topnet yesterday. After a few more steps he tapped me on the shoulder and whispered “maybe they won’t notice” – I still laugh whenever I think of this).

4-14 landed at our stop 1 site and may have banged his right leg, perhaps on barbed wire fencing as he has an abrasion and some bleeding in addition to a limp.

After about an hour Colleen reported he was no longer limping and the bleeding had stopped. (Turns out it is just a small abrasion).

Cranes 3-14 and 8-14 were flown back to the 1st stop to await crating, along with 4-14.

ALL seven cranes are now at our second migration stop – in Marquette County, Wisconsin.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/11/2nd-day-not-as-pretty-as-the-1st/
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Tomorrow will be a day to regroup.

Very Likely Down Tomorrow

After today’s cra-zazyness it looks like we’ll get some downtime tomorrow. Typically, once the cranes are at the second migration stop (Marquette County), we pick up and move our camp. That didn’t get done today because with everything else going on and poor weather moving in, our first priority was to get the birds settled.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/11/very-likely-down-tomorrow/
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Some days off are not for resting up.
 
October 12: No Migratory Flight Today

Operation Migration is now in Marquette County, Wisconsin: the second stopover. How they got there is a story for the ages, but I doubt that it will ever be completely told.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/11/2nd-day-not-as-pretty-as-the-1st/

The occurrence, that I found most poignant, plots itself in the fact that four of the cranes flew north, to the place where they once belonged, instead of southward to the unknown. Throw in the absence of a top net over the White River Marsh pen site, Peanut’s bloody leg, and the perspectives of all involved in the day’s events, and bird lovers would be privy to quite an interesting short story—if not a gripping single chapter of a many-chaptered account.

Oh well, how about a message from a costumed handler:

Message from a Costumed Handler

Well another training season has come and gone at the White River Marsh training site. All the hard work by the pilots, the costumes, and the staff members is done here. I should say it’s been a fun year.

It seems every day is different and full of challenges. This year, trying to keep Peanut (#4-14) in the pen while letting the others out to train was interesting to say the least. Being with “Peanut” in the pen as the trikes and the other birds would fly by, he was making loud peeping noise as though to let us know I want to fly with them. Poor Peanut probably wondering why the tumes wouldn’t let him out. It was heartbreaking and It was difficult but he had to rest that leg.
He is doing better now and will soon be flying high with his class mates….

…I think we all love little Peanut, I know us handlers sure do. Here’s a video clip of him attacking the first pumpkin he encountered.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/12/message-from-a-costumed-handler/
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There’s no place like home: http://www.operationmigration.org/
 
October 14: Not Today, Probably Not Tomorrow, But Maybe Thursday

Wind & Rain…

Winds are from a favorable direction, however at 14 mph, they’re simply too strong. And as if we needed more convincing to stay put, there is still a lot of rain moving through the area. [See this morning’s radar.]
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/14/wind-rain-2/
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Anticipation

IF you can believe the weather forecasts, we may have a chance to fly Thursday. Richard van Heuvelen will lead; Joe Duff will be in the new trike, flying chase.

We are all packed up and ready to move camp tomorrow, so this will be our last day near Berlin, Wisconsin.

Everyone is very anxious wondering how the birds are going to do now that they are a bit farther away from White River Marsh AKA ‘home’ in their minds.

We had a meeting this morning and we all know our roles and our duties. Now, someone send a memo to the chicks and let them know ‘flying south’ is the name of the game, not ‘boxing south.’

Keep those primaries crossed that our next fly day is a total opposite of last Saturday!
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/14/anticipation/
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Don’t forget about tomorrow night on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/10/10/mike-rowe-episode-2-clip-2.cnn.html
 
October 16: Nope! Not Today

At least we hope our patience will pay off. It’s been raining for over 36 hours and things are really soggy.

We’re now on the backside of the low pressure system bringing the rain and we’re hopeful it will continue to move out overnight and leave us with a light, northerly breeze for Thursday morning.

We’re down for today but hopeful to be able to continue tomorrow.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/15/good-things-come-to-those-who-wait/
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While we wait, here’s a piece from Brooke Pennypacker. If you’ve never read his writings, you’ll be in for quite an experience. It’s like he throws countless snowballs at you, and each of them come within an inch of your face, but you never feel their cold, stinging, painful impact. Further, once he’s done throwing the snowballs, you find yourself on a seventy-five-degree day, eating ice cream.

Mouseketeer Club

“So, how was it at White River Marsh this year?”
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/15/mouseketeer-club/
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Somebody’s Gotta Do It airs on CNN at 2100 hours U.S. eastern time: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/10/10/mike-rowe-episode-2-clip-2.cnn.html
 
October 16: No Progress Today

The weather forecasters said this morning’s conditions would be a light breeze from the north. That’s NOT, however, what was delivered. Winds on the surface and aloft were from the west and stronger than what they were supposed to be.

Despite this, an attempt was made to lead the cranes to Columbia County, WI. Unfortunately, the birds refused to fly in the trashy conditions and eventually all were returned to our Marquette County stopover.

It’s been a very busy day as we finally relocated our camp from the White River Marsh area to where the cranes are penned.

Here are some images captured this morning during the attempted migration flight.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/16/time-to-move-on-not/
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It looks like I won’t be able to link directly to the episode of Somebody’s Gotta Do It that featured young Whooping Cranes. This probable short-lived link is the best I can do: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/us/original-series-mike-rowe-somebodys-gotta-do-it
 
October 18: The Rain Held Them Down Today

Sometimes you can tell before you even roll out of bed that it won’t be a migration day. Such was the case this morning when I heard the unmistakable sound of raindrops on the metal roof of the motorhome. http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/18/migration-day-9/
Click to expand...

Flying in Formation

Formation flying with birds is equal measures of art and science. The art is in reading the clues the birds provide and knowing how we can make their work easier. That requires subtle changes to speed and altitude and indicates when we can climb and when we need to glide. The science is not so intuitive. http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/18/7569/
Click to expand...
 
October 19: Wind Blowing From the South
http://hint.fm/wind/

Standing Down Today

With winds blowing from the south, we’ll be staying on the ground for another day.

Join us at 3pm central time today for a live video chat – Have your questions ready and ask them in the chat on our ustream channel.
http://www.ustream.tv/migratingcranes
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Whooping Cranes to Head South through Nebraska Soon

A bird that was once close to extinction will soon be migrating south through Nebraska..,

…The Whooping Crane population will be flying to wintering sites in Texas over the next few weeks…,

…The Commission asks the public to report sightings, which will be used to help continues conservation and recovery efforts.
http://www.jrn.com/kmtv/news/Whooping-crane-migration-south-starts-soon-279593782.html
Click to expand...
 
October 21: One of the Four Letter Words

WIND – I’m getting a tad tired of typing it. Of feeling it, hearing it, seeing the leaves on the trees move.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/21/that-four-letter-word/
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Maybe tomorrow, but in other Whooping Crane news:

Southern Company Continues Longstanding Commitment to Operation Migration’s Annual Whooping Crane Journey
Published: Oct 21, 2014 10:00 a.m. ET

Southern Company, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), is sponsoring Operation Migration – aimed at conserving the endangered whooping crane – for the seventh consecutive year through its Power of Flight program.

As the presenting sponsor, Southern Company supports Operation Migration's EarlyBird e-bulletin newsletter, which provides progress reports and other information about the migration each morning. To sign up for the free electronic newsletter, go to operationmigration.org/inthefield. The website also includes a migration map, live crane cam and other information….

Southern Company's EarlyBird sponsorship supports the annual migration, now in its 14th year, that takes young cranes on a more than 1,200-mile journey from Wisconsin to Florida. The captive-hatched birds are led on the migratory route by ultralight aircraft guided by Operation Migration pilots who act as "surrogate parents." The flight teaches the cranes the migration route so they can return on their own the following spring.

This year's migration of seven cranes began on Oct. 10 and will conclude at St. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, south of Tallahassee, Florida. Although the route is mapped with stopovers prior to each migration, weather plays a pivotal role in the duration of the migration….

…"The support we receive from the Southern Company Power of Flight program is instrumental to helping us restore the whooping crane population," said CEO and co-founder of Operation Migration Joe Duff. "What's equally important about this partnership is that it helps educate the public and the conservation community on our efforts, which increases awareness." MORE:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/so...ions-annual-whooping-crane-journey-2014-10-21
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Whooping Crane Migration is Under Way
Posted Oct. 21, 2014 @ 2:50 pm

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

Whooping Cranes have begun leaving their breeding grounds to migrate south from Canada, and will soon be passing through Kansas on their way to Texas. One of the best places to look for them will be Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas.

Annually each fall, a few dozen of these rare birds are sighted in or near Quivira. It is possible for visitors to view them in or near Quivira from late October through November, but occurrences are not daily, and are scattered over several weeks. Whooping Cranes use Quivira’s open salt flats and wetlands to roost during their visits, but each group typically doesn’t stay more than a day or two, with many just stopping overnight. Group size averages 2-5 birds. Your best chance to find them at Quivira is at either dusk or dawn.
MORE: http://www.sjnewsonline.com/article/20141021/NEWS/141029839/-1/news
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October 22: A Three Letter Four Letter Word Today—Fog

No Flight Today

We’re down. Lingering fog along flight path and a quartering wind reduced ground speed to <19mph. Watch the clip [via the link] below to see how, soon after lifting off, Richard van Heuvelen was swallowed up by the fog.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/22/no-flight-today-2/
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Although Operation Migration could not migrate today, they are reporting Whooping Crane movement and sightings.

Class of 2013

Doug & Mako Pellerin went out today to check on a sighting of five of last year’s Whooping cranes in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.

Doug shared the following [linked] images with us to share. Pictured are 2-13, 4-13, 5-13, 7-13 and 8-13. We have no word on #9-13 who was previously with this group.
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/22/class-of-2013/
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Whooping Cranes on the Move

International Crane Foundation’s Eva Szyszkoski sent a note late yesterday advising that some of the older Whooping cranes in the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership flock were on their way south!

Eva said “Just a note to let you know that migration has officially begun! I received word today of up to seven whooping cranes in Greene County, Indiana, including wild-hatched chick W3-14 and her father 12-02 (who were still on territory in Wood County the afternoon of Bev Paulan’s last survey flight on October 16th).”

Eva is still awaiting leg band information on the others before she can determine which cranes they are.

If you spot a Whooping crane WCEP asks that you please report the information via this public sighting report form. [Public Sighting Report Form: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/whoopingcrane/sightings/sightingform.cfm
http://operationmigration.org/InTheField/2014/10/22/whooping-cranes-on-the-move/
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