Jim Williams has been watching birds and writing about their antics since before "Gilligan's Island" went into reruns. Join him for his unique insights, his everyday adventures and an open conversation about the birds in your back yard and beyond.
Home + Garden headlines
- Grape expectations
- The end is near!
- Garden in fall and winter? Yes
- Fixit: Organic, free-range turkeys go outdoors
- Dec. 2008: Minneapolis man double-decks the halls
- Fixit: Cleaning upholstery may be a job for pros
- What $445,000 buys in ...
- Rambler redux
- Fixit:Try to recycle batteries in mascara wands
Home | Blogs | Wingnut |Wingnut Archive
Whooping Cranes make it as far as Illinois
Print this
E-mail this
Del.icio.us
Facebook
DiggThe 20 Whooping Cranes in the 2009 hatch class from Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin have made it as far as Illinois on their migration to wintering grounds in Florida. Cranes need to fly the migration route once to imprint it in their brains. In the wild, they'd be led by their parents or other adult cranes. These birds, raised from hatching by humans (costumed as cranes), need first-time help. They're led by an ultralight aircraft team, all volunteers. They're part of the Operation Migration effort to help restore Whooping Cranes to their former eastern U.S. range. The birds flew 34 miles yesterday (Nov. 5). They're grounded by weather today. For more information, and to follow this year's migration day by day, go to www.operationmigration.org/ and click on In the Field.
Track migration of the Whooping Crane class of 2009 from Wisconsin to wintering ground in Florida here.
The photo of cranes training behind an ultralight aircraft at Necedah NWR was taken there three summers ago.
Join the discussion: Your Voices is a group blog featuring unique perspectives from members of your community. Find commentary on current events, public issues and day-to-day life in Minnesota.
Recent posts
What a game! Nothing like sweeping the Packers with Brett.
See thousands of photos from other StarTribune.com readers and share your own photos and video today.
Comment on this post | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments