The first whooping crane with a Wisconsin birth certificate has been hatched.

Thursday, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Biologist Richard Urbanek reported that a whooping crane pair was actively attending to their nest as a sign they had just successfully hatched a chick.

Refuge Manager Larry Wargowsky called the event a “major milestone.” It’s the first time a migratory whooping crane pair has reproduced in the eastern United States since the population of the species dwindled to 15 in 1942.

The Necedah Refuge is part of a project to establish a second migratory flock in North America. The only other migratory flock flies from northern Canada to Texas, and biologists hope to create a permanent flock that migrates between Wisconsin and Florida.

Urbanek warned that the whooping crane chick must survive predators and other hazards before reaching maturity. The breeding pair is only four years old and are relatively young parents; most whooping cranes breed between the ages of four and seven.

“Hopefully, they can protect and practice good parenting behavior early in their life,” Urbanek said.

Previous attempts at reproduction had ended in failure. In 2005, the pair attempted to nest and laid one egg, which was destroyed, possibly by a predator, while they were off the nest. This spring they attempted incubating for awhile, however, something happened to their eggs, and they were unsuccessful for a second time.

They re-nested May 23 and successfully hatched 30 days later.

The whooping crane reintroduction project began five years ago and has placed 63 birds in the wild.

The birds were raised by costumed humans and trained to follow ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to Florida the first year to learn the migration route south. Subsequent migrations have occurred without the aid of their ultralight parents.

The Necedah National Wildlife Refuge Office is open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located off of Highway 21 four miles west of the Village of Necedah or 18 miles east of Tomah.