Sunday's for the Birds: Whooping Crane Chick #3-11

Meet chick # 3-11 of Operation Migration's Class of 2011. His hatch day was May 4 and when he was fresh out of the shell, his favorite thing to do was drink water. Once he gained his bird-legs, he fretted around his pen, stirring up the other chicks into a nervous frenzy. This behavior earned him the nicknames "squeaker" and "worrywart."
As he grew, he often challenged #1-11 for the dominant position. During early days in flight school, he ran nicely along the runway, but refused to get airborne. By September, he discovered his wings and became one of the first to take off. Once migration began, he seemed to revert back to his ground preference. However, by the 3rd flight day, he got the hang of it and flew the entire distance. The Class of 2011 is currently in Livingston County, IL waiting for the weather to improve.

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. Next Sunday, read about chick #4-11.