We got up at 4:30 AM (!) to drive 30 miles and see the Operation Migration flight training for their whooping crane chicks. We had to be at the gate by 5:45 for them to let us in. Pat and Kirk went with us, and there was one other woman, who had been there once before. They led us on a short walk through the marsh to a blind which was covered in camouflage netting, and there were holes for us to look through and take pictures. We took lots of pictures and videos. Some of the videos are a little jumpy since it was sort of hard to handle the camera through the netting.
When we first got there, there was a low fog, so the ultralight was a little late arriving. He comes from a strip about nine miles away. Soon after he arrived, they let the chicks out of their enclosure. There are also two adult cranes (the white ones) who are coming back looking for treats (grapes). They are not unwelcome as "guests", but need to know that it's not primarily their territory any more. One is a chick from last year, and one is 4 or 5 years old.
The ultralight uses a "brood call" (which you can hear on the videos) to communicate with the chicks. The sound of the engine is played to them before they hatch, so they will not be afraid of it. The two adults greet the ultralight with a call as it arrives, and then again as it leaves. After it flew away, they did, too.
The handlers all wear white hooded coveralls and hold puppets that can dispense the grapes or dried mealworms. They don't really plan on looking like a crane, but don't want the birds to identify with humans.
As we were leaving, we saw several sandhill cranes in a field in the marsh and got videos of them, too.
After we returned to Oshkosh, we went to the warbird area to hear Dick Rutan and General Charles Boyd talk about their experiences in the F-100. We also went to the EAA museum to hear Dick Rutan talk about the Voyager flight around the world in 1986.
I have lots of pictures and videos from today, and also added two photos from yesterday that I got from Kirk's camera.
Tom & Ann on the tram
Heritage Flight:
P-51 Mustang, P-38 Lightning,
and F-22
Trek through the marsh to the blind
The blind
Enclosure for the chicks
You can see the low-lying fog.
You can see chicks through the fence.
Letting them out
The chicks have reddish feathers and have leg bands.
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