Midwest Birding Symposium Highlights Whooping Crane Reintroduction.

Business Editors/Wildlife Writers

GREEN BAY, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2001

The Whooping Crane dominates the bird news in Wisconsin this year. Right now, ten young Whoopers living at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge near Necedah, Wisconsin, are waiting to take their first flight to Florida. Many individuals and institutions are working together to reintroduce Whooping Cranes to their former nesting grounds.

To learn more about the reintroduction project, plan to attend the Midwest Birding Symposium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, August 30 to September 2, 2001. On Friday, August 31, at 1:30 p.m., George Archibald of the International Crane Foundation will present "Whooping Cranes for the Midwest," an overview of the entire project.

On Saturday, September 1, at 1:30 p.m., Joe Duff of Operation Migration will speak on "Cranes and Planes," explaining how an ultralight aircraft will be used to lead the young Whooping Cranes from Wisconsin to Florida this fall.

Archibald and Duff both plan to attend the entire symposium and will be available for questions and informal conversation. The ultralight airplane will also be on display.

In honor of the Whooping Cranes, all proceeds from the symposium will be donated to the whooping crane reintroduction project.

The theme for Midwest Birding Symposium 2001 is wetlands. Other speakers will focus on restoring Trumpeter Swans in Wisconsin; breeding biology of Wood Ducks; water birds of Texas; waterfowl and wetlands; the river birds in Wisconsin's Sauk County; bog birds of Michigan; the migration of shorebirds; and Wisconsin's world-famous Horicon Marsh.

Visitors are encouraged to attend the entire event for a small registration fee, but daily registration is available as well. For more information, visit www.birdersworld.com and click on "News and Events" or contact Jenny Birkel at 800-558-1544 (ext. 245).

The symposium is hosted by Birder's World magazine, Eagle Optics, and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.