November 11, 2005 Migration Day 29 Goodbye, Morgan County! +40 miles Whoopee! The migration has finally arrived at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge after a long wait in Morgan County, Indiana. They've come a total of 433.3 miles. It was a great flight: 1 hour 16 minutes, covering over 40 miles, with all birds flying the whole way! Richard led 17 birds. Brooke led #508 and Joe escorted #516 (the one with the healing wing). That makes 19, which is now the flock total after this week's loss of #526. Video Clip Cranes in flight! Can't View Video? Macs PCs How to see the cranes take off from Muscatatuck! More Whooping Cranes on the Move! You already know that six of the one-year-old whooping cranes left Wisconsin on their first migration south November 9. And the wild natural flock is still arriving in Texas from Canada. Weather in the past week hasn't been favorable for them to complete their migration to the Texas coast, and only two have arrived since Nov. 2. Over half of the expected 235 whoopers are already there. A family group was still in Saskatchewan on November 5. Two whoopers were on the Platte River in Nebraska November 3, while 3 were at Salt Plains NWR in Oklahoma on November 4. The others are scattered throughhout the migration corridor. We wish all the whooping cranes safe travels! Help the Cranes and Planes Reach Florida! Track the Migration Use our map or make your own with this migration data. (Click map to enlarge.) Keep a Migration Journal • Today's Question: This flight ended the longest stay in one location since they started leading whooping cranes in 2001. Joe said, "This was the longest period any of our birds have gone without seeing the aircraft--and that includes all the years of training at Necedah and all the migrations." The team didn't expect an easy flight out of Morgan County, but none of their worst fears came true. Explain. • History: Where were they a year ago today? Click on the 2004 archives to find out and compare.   Migration Journal Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure presented in cooperation with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2005 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form.