Trying to Cross Alabama (Total Gone: 703 Miles)
December 16, 2013
Weekly Updates

After two long weeks in Hardin County, Tennessee, the birds may have thought they were home: Only two cranes followed the distance to Winston County, Alabama! Wrong-way winds or low cloud ceilings have kept them here, at stopover #15 of 22, despite two more attempted takeoffs since arriving. Pilots wrangling an hour in the air on Dec. 14 with unwilling birds that refused to stick with the planes in headwinds. Pilot Joe summed it up: "They understand that it is wiser to save your energy for days when the wind helps instead of hinders. And maybe that morning was a lesson the students taught the teachers." How many Stopovers remain before the journey south is done? Our crane bio pages are updated each each flight day. Until our next weekly summary on Dec. 23, see daily updates at Operation Migration and live action on the crane cam.

Attempted takeoff on Dec. 14, 2013
Image: Operation Migration

 

Operation Migration's Daily Field Journal

Migration updates posted daily at Operation Migration website. Follow along!

Progress to most recent flight
Fall 2013 Migration
(map | stopovers)

 

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Meet the Cranes

Journey North is presented by Annenberg Learner.
Partial funding for this news update has been made possible through Operation Migration by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Southern Company through the Power of Flight Program.