Travel Log...
 Operation Migration
Ontario, Canada
Welcome Back, Whoopers! (Part 2)
It’s the kind of UFO every birder dreams about—a
flock of a dozen or more young Whooping Cranes, flying in tight formation,
following ultralight airplanes! Not only that, but the pilots of the
ultralights are wearing Whooping Crane costumes!
 Strange,
maybe. True—absolutely. Thanks to the clever conservationists at Operation
Migration Inc., new generations of young Whooping Cranes are being taught to
migrate from Wisconsin to Florida by following ultralight aircraft. And Wild
Birds Unlimited and its customers are helping make it all possible, with a
$24,500 Pathways To Nature grant to Operation Migration.
After the young Whoopers are raised at the
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, they begin a journey into the
unknown in the fall of their first year. Weather permitting, the ultralights
take off each morning, young whoopers in tow. They fly short distances,
sometimes up to a hundred miles or more, returning to earth each night and
the safety of their portable pens.
After crossing six or more states on their 1,200
mile plus voyage, the cranes settle in at the Chassahowitzka National
Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where they will spend the winter,
exploring their new surroundings.
The following spring, the young Whoopers will
migrate north to Wisconsin, on their own. Through fall of 2004, 53 young
Whoopers have undertaken this extraordinary trip, and are forming the basis
for a new, wild flock of cranes that will grace our skies for many years to
come.
For more information on Operation Migration and
the Whooping Crane reintroductions, visit:
www.operationmigration.org
and http://chassahowitzka.fws.gov
The
Pathways To Nature Conservation
Fund is a partnership between Wild Birds Unlimited stores and the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to
fund environmental education and wildlife viewing projects. We encourage all
of our customers to visit these incredible places. Your patronage helped
make these projects possible!
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