Comparing Ultralight-Led Migrations 2001 2002 2003 2004 Target date for departure October 13 Oct. 7 and then Oct. 10 October 8 October 9 Actual departure October 17 October 13 October 16 October 10 Number of birds at takeoff 8 17 16 14 Number of planes 4: lead, chase, & scout ultralights and one top cover 5: four ultralights and one top cover 5: four ultralights and one top cover  5: four ultralights and one top cover Journey's end December 3 Nov. 30 Dec. 8 Dec. 12 Number of birds reaching Florida 7 16 16 13 Total days en route 48 49 54 64 Number of no-fly days (grounded or turned back) 24 28 34 (includes 4 days when they turned back and made no progress) 43 Number of actual flight days (progress made) 24 21 20 21 Longest flight 2 hours 9 minutes 2 hours 15 minutes 3 hours 4 minutes (200 miles--covering most of GA. New record!) 2 hours 58 minutes (157 miles covered) Shortest flight 38 minutes 44 minutes 41 minutes   43 minutes Total Miles South (*after OM's final adjustments) *1164.2 *1227.8 *1191 1204.4 Number of birds surviving winter/returning to Wisconsin 5 16 16 survived but 12 returned to WI . (#319 was killed in summer in MI by bobcat; 3 others stayed in MI all summer.)  12 Days on Wintering Grounds 126 121  117 days *  **107 Click here for the daily migration reports. NOTES: The flock started with 15 birds but only 13 were delivered to Florida by the ultralights. (Chick #406 died on Day 63 of the migration; Chick #418 was left behind due to feather problems, and he later followed some older ultrawhoopers to find his way.) Chick #418 was left behind when the ultralights and his 14 flockmates left on migration. He had problems with his feathers so wasn't ready to migrate. Instead, he became the first young whooper for supplemental migration--a chick conditioned behind the ultralight aircraft but then put with older birds to see if he could learn the migration route. Only 7 launched with the trike on Day 1. Others were crated and trucked to the first stopover site. Day 4 was the first time all 14 birds went the distance by AIR. On Oct. 24, the two youngest (419 and 420) and the usual trouble maker, #414, had to be caught, crated, and driven to the LaSalle Cty, IL site when they dropped out. Morgan County, IN was the 8th stop and only the 2nd time that the ground crew didn't have to pick up any dropouts. They had some long weather delays. The longest were 7 days in Green County, WI and 7 days in Meigs County, TN (Hiwassee State Wildlife Area). They searched for more than 8 hours before finding and retrieving runaway crane #412 on Day 48. The first air pickup took place Nov. 7, Day 29. An air drop took place Nov. 8, Day 30, under unusual landing conditions. They skipped three stops in Georgia in one day. Flying was good and they just kept going. Crane #406 died at migration stopover 20 (Gilchrist County, FL) due to health problems. They made 21 stops, including the final one at Chassahowitzka. Total flying time for the migration was 33 hours and 11 minutes.   (Read Notes on previous migrations: 2001, 2002, 2003.)   Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2002-2005 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form