How do immature whooping cranes migrate?
A. The juvenile whoopers are taught the migration by their parents. Unlike other birds, cranes do not have instinct to show them the route. They usually spend the entire first year with their parents, making two migrations with them. They learn their lessons well since sometimes one-year-old cranes will migrate by themselves but have no trouble staying on the route they were shown. When I say “route”, I mean a migration corridor about 150 miles wide. They are not following exactly the path they covered before. They have an amazing navigational ability to always know where they need to go. Q. How fast do whooping cranes fly? A. In straight flapping flight with no tailwinds, the birds can go 30 miles per hour. With strong tailwinds pushing them along, and gaining altitude on thermals and then gliding down, they reach speeds above 60 mph. The cranes, particularly in the fall, wait for strong tailwinds connected with storms that push south from Canada and aid the birds journey all the way
