Migration
2010 Begins! (+23 Miles)
They're
OFF! Will 10/10/10 be the lucky number? It didn't start
that way, but four birds (#1, #3, #6, #8) did go the distance
(23 miles). Pilot Richard launched with seven and landed with
four
at stopover
#1 in South Juneau County, Wisconsin. The others
made a game of hide and seek. Joe
picked up one of Richard's dropouts and Trike Cam watchers saw
that it was #15-10. He was open-mouth breathing,
so Joe landed with him to give the tired bird a rest before
launching again with #15-10 on his wing. By now 4 birds
were safely in the travel pen at the first stopover, while trackers
were hunting for three dropouts. They were found, crated, and
driven
the remaining
two miles to stopover #1. (Are you counting?) Three other
birds turned back to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Brooke
managed to get
#10-10
to follow
him, but she dropped
out
during the
flight.
Trackers retrieved her from a marsh to ride the rest
of the way in a crate. It may be off to a lurching start with
7 crated and four flying, but the journey south is underway.
Three cheers and a big hooray!
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