Sunday's for the Birds: Meet Whooper Chick #5-11


Loves to sleep, loves grapes, very friendly, but a reluctant flyer. When #5-11 hatched, he spent most of his time napping. Once he became used to life outside the egg, he turned his attention to treat time, often the first in line to nab the grapes from the handlers. Although he shows promise of being a great flyer, he's been one of the first to turn back after migration take-off. On migration day #20, he spotted two sandhill cranes and decided to land and pay them a visit. 
Due to bad weather, the Class of 2011 has been on the ground for a recording-break 16 days. Hopefully, when they return to the air, #5-11 will be ready to spread his wings and get down to Florida where days are nice and warm. 
This information and the chick's photo came from the OM website: http://www.operationmigration.org/ 
Read more about the Class of 2011 by going to the website's "In the Field," then "Site Map," and scroll down until you see the bios for the various classes. You can also purchase whooping crane merchandize on the website: jewelry, T-shirts, greeting cards, etc. And you can sponsor migration miles. There are more than 500 left for this year. 
Next Sunday, read about chick #6-11. 
The team is still in Livingston, IL, waiting for the weather to improve.