Sometimes good news is hard to come by so I am happy to say that the first wild hatched Whooping Crane chick from the Operation Migration flock has successfully completed its fall migration to Florida. Currently the flock consists of 64 released cranes plus the 1 wild hatched chick. I was lucky enough to see a pair of Whooping Cranes last spring at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin among a flock of Sandhill Cranes and I can say that they are stunningly beautiful.
Also check out Mike’s Birding and Digiscoping Blog for more on the story.