17 New Whooping Cranes

Getting ready for the long migration south, this year’s class of 17 whooping crane chicks will soon be joining the flocks across Wisconsin. Seven costume raised chicks were released at the White River Wildlife Area in Green Lake County. The remaining eleven parent raise chicks were released to join flocks in Marathon, Dodge, Winnebago and Marquette counties. The chicks came from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

The class of 2017 will soon be leaving on their long journey to their wintering grounds in Florida. An 18th chick is recovering from an injured wing and will be released once it injuries are completely healed. The Operation Migration Team is a non-profit that has lead efforts to re-introduce Whooping Cranes to the eastern United States. They recently posted a summary of Whooping Crane news on the Journey North website.