For his early-training report card, chick #6 received As in following, flapping, running, and lifting off. Comments: fresh out of the egg, chick #6 showed fast progress in eating and drinking on his own; he displayed self-reliance, but became frightened upon hearing the trike engine for the first time. Being a big bird, he shows promise of becoming a leader. 
Flight-school report card: A for completing J-shaped flight path, A+ for high flying, A+ for distance flying. Comments: concern when he faked a sore leg during flight training and had his teachers worried for no reason. Then in mid-September, he developed an affinity for dirt and was often seen carrying clods around in his beak. Not sure if these are attention-getting behaviors, but that will have to be watched.
Departure-week report card: C for effort, C for paying attention. This could be pre-migration jitters, too early to tell.
October Migration report card: C- for following the ultralight; C- for altitude, B for shows improvement. Chick #6 had to be crated for several of the first stops after turning back. On one instance, he convinced two other birds to turn back with him. The crew is concerned about #6 becoming a bad influence. However, he ended the first month’s migration with “flying” colors. On October 29, he flew and completed the entire trip. There is hope!
Report card complied from notes and observations by Geoff Tarbox.

This information and the chick’s photo came from the OM website: http://www.operationmigration.org/
Read more about the Class of 2011 by going to the website’s “In the Field,” then “Site Map,” and scroll down until you see the bios for the various classes. You can also purchase whooping crane merchandize on the website: jewelry, T-shirts, greeting cards, etc. And you can sponsor migration miles. There are more than 500 left for this year. 
Next Sunday, read about chick #7-11 a/k/a Bev.