When the two crane chicks arrived at the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center last spring, they had been separated from their parent, who had a badly injured leg.
That parent was “elusive,” center staff said, and difficult to catch. As the days went on, staff said the situation became stressful since it can be tricky to raise the two chicks — known as colts — without a parent around.
“The babies were extremely active and grew like weeds, but keeping baby cranes in care until release is challenging, especially when no adult is present. Both stress and habituation are constant concerns,” the center said in a Facebook post.
Within a week, another injured crane arrived. The team initially hoped it was the chicks’ parent, but the bird’s injuries did not match. Nevertheless, that crane ended up bonding with the young birds and with some prodding, took them on as a foster parent.
All three cranes were released to the wild — and were spotted earlier this month thriving in their new family.
“Everyone was really rooting for them and was excited to see this process,” Stephanie Touzalin, wildlife education supervisor with the wildlife center, said in an interview this week. “Getting that confirmation that they were still together and they were doing well really made us happy to see that.”
The two young colts were first spotted by the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors along a forest preserve trail in DuPage County, but because of their parent’s injury, they kept getting separated. They were brought into the wildlife center, which is run by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, on May 10. The parent, though, was too difficult to catch.
On May 17, the team rescued another adult sandhill crane with a fractured distal leg and a dislocated toe. That bird had to have its toe amputated.
At first, staff wondered if this was indeed the chicks’ parent. But the injuries didn’t match, so they decided to try introduce the birds in a controlled matter, knowing there were risks since sandhill cranes can be territorial.
“We had to either see how they would do with each other even though unrelated, or again, look into transfer of the colts” to another facility, the Facebook post stated. “… For around one week, the adult was restricted to the kennel while the babies had the rest of the room, so they could see and smell each other. After that week of being in the same space, the door was opened and everyone was introduced. And wouldn’t you know it, it was an immediate blended family.”
Said Touzalin: “We were happily surprised to notice that the adult crane … was very interested in them, and was being gentle, was helping them and offering foods to the babies.”
Finding a surrogate parent for the chicks was key to their upbringing and long-term survival.
“As babies, it’s really important for them to have adults … to kind of model the correct sandhill crane behaviors,” she said.
The birds were cared for together as a family until they were released into the wild in July.
Usually, there aren’t many updates once birds are released.
But last week, Lisa Larsen, who lives in DuPage County, spotted the cranes while out on a trail in the forest preserves. She said the birds were very gentle and walked towards her when she noticed the tags on them.
“I was very happy to have a close encounter with the birds. It’s a reminder that we are sharing the space” with other living creatures, she told the Sun-Times.
According to Touzalin there has been an increase in sandhill cranes breeding in Illinois in the last decade as they migrate back north for spring breeding season.
Sandhill cranes, which were previously hunted before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, have returned to the Midwest in large numbers. There were only two dozen breeding pairs in Wisconsin in 1930s. Today the Midwest population is estimated at more than 90,000.
The cranes typically begin to migrate from October through December to warmer southern states like Texas and Florida. Along their southward journey, the birds are often spotted in DuPage County and northern Indiana, particularly at Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area, a migration site southeast of Valparaiso.
Annette Prince, director of Chicago Bird Collusion Monitors, said that the story evidences the teamwork that goes into rescuing birds.
Staff at the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center have “given their expertise, their talent and their resources to helping the many birds that we find injured through a variety of urban hazards,” Prince said. “We are hoping to protect these birds and give them this wonderful second chance in the wild. And we’re very grateful to work cooperatively to make these success stories happen.”