October 1, 2002 Following "Mom" Photo Jim Carpenter Each day counts in building up the birds' flight time as migration gets near. The group is flying well. Do you remember what you wrote for the journaling question on September 17? We asked you to journal about how the pilot knows how committed the bird is to the plane. Joe tells us that behaviors such as these show a bird is committed to the ultralight and very likely to follow wherever it leads: The bird comes close to the plane when it is parked on the ground. It will peck on the ground under the plane. When the engine starts, the bird perks up and goes into preflight posture. The bird tries to fly close to the aircraft and use the vortices created by the wing to help it "surf" on the air. (You learned what a vortex is in the September 30 update. Vortices is plural for vortex.) Try This! Journaling Question What does each of the 3 behaviors above tell about the bird? Explain why you think each shows the bird is committed to the ultralight. Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form