The editors at Bird Watching Daily have covered the story of Wisconsin’s whooping cranes twice this fall. This recent post at birdwatchingdaily.com discusses the DAR (Direct Autumn Release) chicks at Horicon Marsh and environmental photojournalist Tom Lynn.
The chicks were released near adult cranes at Horicon on October 24, and will hopefully soon be following the adults to Florida. Lynn, from Milwaukee, has been granted what Bird Watching Daily calls “unprecedented access to the DAR birds,” and hopes to follow them and document their journey south.
Earlier this fall, Bird Watching Daily’s managing editor, Matt Mendenhall, attended the annual Whooping Crane Festival based in Berlin, WI, with side trips to Necedah, Baraboo, and Green Lake. Over that weekend, he reports, he saw a total of 17 whooping cranes – a number that would have been unheard of a short time ago. He called the weekend a true celebration of the efforts to re-introduce the cranes here, and his report, “A Weekend for watching and celebrating Whooping Cranes” is well worth a look.
The Badger and the Whooping Crane 