Waiting
for Better Conditions (+0
Miles)
November 3, 2010: Migration Day 25
Photo: Operation Migration. Art: Class
of 2010!
It
looked good on the ground: cold and calm. But what about
aloft? Up went three test
trikes
at sunrise
so the
pilots could see for themselves. They were airborne (without
birds) to the next destination when they realized the verdict: It
would take
more
than 2-1/2 hours to
go almost 60 miles to stop #7. The young cranes need better flying
conditions to go that far, so today is out. Maybe they'll make some
more pumpkin art. Today's photo is crane-created!
It took the young birds 12 hours. (Also see today's bonus question
for a scary story about the Halloween-day flight.)
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In
the Classroom: Journal or
Discussion
-
(a) Why
do the pilots use the term "test
trike"? And how
do you think the crane-kids
made the pumpkin art in today's
photo?
-
(b-for-bonus) Here's
a scary story by pilot Joe
Duff about a scare he got on
the Oct. 31 flight: "We started
a slow
descent
about five miles out and only
made one circle to come down.
At one point, the birds were
off to the right and slightly
above. I turned up the volume
on the vocalizer and watched
as they moved back in. One
came in too fast and at the
last minute pulled up to go
over the wing just as turbulences
pushed up the wing. The bird's
chest hit the wingtip and I
saw a feather fly as he skimmed
over the top. I turned my head
quickly expecting to see him
falling but he simply tucked
up behind the left wing and
continued down. It felt like
a killing blow to me, but he
must have hit the wing's soft
fabric and avoided the hard
tubes. Once on the ground we
checked all birds but couldn’t
find a mark on any of them.
We spent the afternoon watching
for signs of aggression in
the pen, but everything was
calm." What do you think signs of
aggression would have indicated?
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Journey
North is pleased to feature this educational adventure presented in
cooperation with the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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