A solid week of south winds prevented all progress since the team landed in Hardin County, Tennessee. Fog and rain added to the woes. Long delays like this might have you asking: Why not truck the birds on no-fly days? Read the answer and you'll see why it is such a BIG deal that the all the birds in the Class of 2014 successfully found their way to St. Marks NWR this year. In the week's good news, the final three birds just arrived Dec. 8; this map shows how they were blown off-course in mid November. Looking back, last year's migration was in Hardin County only one day, and completed the journey south in seven flights after that, reaching St. Marks NWR in Florida on December 11. From here, it's 466 miles to the finish line. Next stop for the Class of 2015: Alabama. See stopovers remaining, and hope for a few more double-leg flights to speed the journey. Until next Monday's progress summary here, stay in touch with daily updates and video cams at Operation Migration.

Operation Migration