For more crane news visit Jade's page Support the International Crane Foundation to help protect all crane species around the world

Captive raised Ultra light led Whooping Crane population: Seven wild chicks were successfully hatched this season by the introduced birds. For the first time a DAR (Direct Autumn Release) bird has hatched a chick! What an exciting year this is for the Whooping Cranes! Wild born Whooping Crane population: The only natural Whooping Crane population migrates from Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Conservation efforts have restored this population from just 16 birds that remained in 1941 to over 260 by spring of 2010, however their future is far from secure as they face many threats on their wintering grounds and during migration. This season is off to a terrific start, with 74 nests counted in an aerial census during the last week of May, raising hopes that many chicks will be joining the flock soon. Operation Migration: In the wild Whooping Cranes learn to migrate by following their parents. In an effort to establish a second wild population, captive born birds are being released into the wild. Every year since 2001 Operation Migration has taught a group of these endangered Whooping Crane chicks their migration route using ultra light aircraft. The chicks of the Class of 2010 are now in flight training! Follow their progress here. Beginning in 2005, the Direct Autumn Release program has introduced captive born chicks into the wild, where they associate with older cranes and learn to migrate with them. Sandhill Crane migration: The Hems Family took a trip to the Rowe Sanctuary in Nebraska in spring 2009 to see the breathtaking spectacle of half a million Sandhill Cranes at their migration stop over on the Platte River. This is surely one of the great events of the natural world, the sight and sound of which will remain with us for life, an amazing experience we will never forget.

Charge Ahead For Whooping Cranes