Natural vocalization of a pair, two-note call, in a small wetland pond, surounded by a native grassy field about 100 yards away.

bird-seen:yes

playback-used:no

This ten-year old female (a familiar individual in this area, identified by blue leg band) vocalized for a brief period this morning just off the 'La Chua' trail at the north end of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville, Florida. For about fifteen minutes I observed her foraging in the puddles and mud of the shallow open wetland roughly 200 meters northwest of the trail's observation platform.

She is known to be one of only a few Florida-born Whooping cranes within a small non-migratory population in the state. She hatched in 2006 in Lake County, which lies a bit to the south of this location. Her parents were captive reared cranes released in central Florida in the 1990s.

The bird did not appear to be responding to other sounds, although a pair of Florida Sandhill Cranes were also vocalizing in the near vicinity (not, however, at the same time).

The temperature at the time was in the (normal) range of low-80s F, but cloud cover was notably heavier for that time of morning than it has been in recent days.

The recording was made on a two-channel Sony PCM-M10, then trimmed and reduced to single channel with a two-second fade in/out. No other modifications were made.

bird-seen:yes

playback-used:no