Happy New Year! Here is an update to one of The Badger & the Whooping Crane’s most visited posts – and the longest one ever – about the Cow Pond Whoopers – a special pair with an unusual winter territory near Tallahassee, FL – and Karen Willes, Citizen Scientist; it was published in March, 2015.
Not long after my post about them, the cow pond pair returned to Wisconsin, nested and hatched a chick. Their fans in Tallahassee and the many who follow them through Karen’s posts on Facebook, had cause to be jubilant, but it didn’t last long. Like many vulnerable creatures in the wild, the chick survived only a short time; even worse, for the whooper fans, this popular pair split up, and Mrs. Cow Pond Whooper (known specifically as 15-09) is following another mate.

The Cow Pond Pair, 11-09 with 15-09, a year ago, when they were still a pair; the male, 11-09, is now back at the cow pond near Tallahassee, but single this year. [Photo collage by Karen Willes]
Karen missed the precise moment by just 30 minutes. She had just passed the pond on an outing, “but nothing was there,” she told me in an email. “About a half hour later I got a call from a resident who lives directly across from the pond. As soon as I saw her caller ID, I knew . . . . We immediately went to the pond and put out signs. So the documentation began on Christmas Day!”

Another photo of the former cow pond pair where it’s easy to distinguish the male, 11-09, by his identifying color bands which read, green-white-red (top-to-bottom). [Photo by Karen Willes]
Then Karen submits her work to the professionals she has come to know at the International Crane Foundation and Operation Migration. this helps them keep track of, and better understand, the behavior of the wild whooping cranes they are working to save.
But back to 11-09: what’s next for this lonely-guy, single whooping crane? Karen sees some hope for him finding a mate in Florida. “There are five whoopers from previous years already at the pen at St. Marks,” she said. “He knows the way to the pen (about 25 miles to the south) . . . Perhaps if he decides to strike out on his own, he may find a lovely mate down there. That is our hope!”
St. Mark’s, of course, is the national wildlife refuge that is the destination for the young ultralight-led cranes, and “the pen” is an enclosed wetlands area where the young birds are lightly monitored until they leave on their own first migration north in the spring. Some of them, like 11-09, always return to this part of Florida.
Meanwhile, 11-09 has been spending nearly every day since his Christmas arrival foraging around the cow pond, and delighting the visitors that have been gathering as the word of his arrival – and Karen’s Facebook posts about him – have spread. Though without a mate, he seems to have plenty of companions – even attracting a cohort of nine sandhills to his territory earlier this week. There are also ducks, geese, and yes, even the cows, that he’s interacting with! You too can follow this bit of wildlife drama from afar by checking Karen Willes’ daily posts to Facebook. If there’s any news of 11-09 finding a new whooper mate to join him at the cow pond, I’ll be sharing that right here, too!
Thanks for posting your updates; they are so appreciated. I sure hope he finds a mate!
Hi Sheila. Thanks I’m glad you stopped by. I sure hope I do get to write an update about this guy getting a mate!!
I just took an overdue look at Wolfsong and see you are back in Florida – nice!
Karen has done so much to educate people who come to the cow pond to see the cranes – she even greets first-time visitors and makes them feel welcome.
On Dec. 30, 2015 I captured this interaction between the cows and the bachelor 11-09 and they arrived at the pond and proceeded to play their game of “chase the crane”: https://www.flickr.com/photos/focused-on-birds/24069846185/in/dateposted/
Hi Tara, Thank you for sharing this. (I can’t see the video on my computer, but I’m pretty sure it’s because of an update I’ve failed to make; I’m working on it,because I know I’ll love seeing this “chase the crane” game between the bachelor and the cows.) Thanks again for sharing here! This whole “Cow Pond Whoopers” saga is thoroughly engaging, and I do believe the story of Karen’s participation is powerful. And I’m really glad to meet you – another participant – what a nice holiday present you all received when 11-09 returned!
I hope you get to see it, as he called a lot when he saw the cows – always a treat to see and hear. So glad to meet you too!
Always interesting facts about the whooping cranes. I observed 5 yesterday and I’m pretty sure they weren’t coupled up yet. Must be teenagers. No colts around that I’ve seen but the locals have. It’s exciting to be back in their territory.
You truly are “the accidental craniac,” ingrid – Enjoy, enjoy! Whooping cranes!! Who knew?
Great story. Hope both Mr. and the former Mrs. have happy endings.
Hoping the same thing, Judy! Last news about her, was a sighting in November in WI and she was with a nice male from 2002 – another update for another time!
best of luck the male wooper…. love always finds a way!
Thanks, Jolynn; a good reminder!