A gift with wings Give the gift of flight to 17 young whooping cranes following an ultralight aircraft on their first migratory journey. A Mile Maker sponsorship helps Operation Migration lead the endangered young cranes to their winter refuge.

These young birds were raised at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin last summer. They've been trained to regard the ultralight as a parent and they're following it across seven states and 1,250 miles to Florida. They're expected to reach their destination within the next few weeks, depending on weather and other conditions.

Their journey requires a great deal of expensive support, in the form of pilots, ground crews and monitors. You can sponsor a mile of the journey for $206, a half-mile for $103, or a quarter-mile for $51.50. Find out more at www .operationmigration.org.

VAL CUNNINGHAM

Bird word Casual: A bird species seen in a particular area infrequently or irregularly. Some casual bird species seen in Minnesota include the laughing gull, burrowing owl, Say's phoebe and Pacific loon.

Clean that feeder Dirty feeders, like dirty hands, spread disease, so don't invite birds to a meal that could make them sick. Bird feeders need periodic maintenance, at the very least in the fall and spring. Scrape the accumulated gunk from feeder trays and platforms. If possible, wash each feeder in hot, soapy water and allow it to dry thoroughly before refilling it.

Book in brief It seems that every time someone sees an ivory-billed woodpecker they write a book about it. The latest is Dr. Geoff Hill's "Ivorybill Hunter" (Oxford University Press, $24.95).

Since I truly believe that this bird -- long thought to be extinct -- still exists, Hill's book was a page-turner, even though I knew the ending: no definitive photo.

Nonetheless, Hill writes a lively account of months of grinding fieldwork along the Choctawhatchee River in Florida's panhandle in 2005 and 2006. (The search continued as the book was being published this year.)

Ivorybills were seen; recordings of knocks and calls were captured. And the all-too-common snippet of blurry video was taken. All of this -- plus some dishing on ornithology and ornithologists -- makes for a good read.

The last chapter outlines how you, too, can join the search. Bring your GPS. Leave your skepticism at home.

JIM WILLIAMS