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October
25, 2003
Day 10
Lucky
With Weather: Onward to LaSalle County, IL!
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| Can you guess what this is? (Hint: It's ready for packing to the cranes' next stopover site.) |
After last night's rain, the field was too soggy for the ultralight to
land, so the team performed its first air pick-up of
the cranes. This is what it looked like: Joe approached low and from the
east. Sara and Charlie had already released the cranes, who stood, eagerly
waiting for an aircraft to appear. Once the birds spotted Joe's ultralight,
they took off into the wind, getting a head start on the fast-approaching
aircraft. Joe caught up within seconds and moved his trike into the lead
position in front of the birds. Two cranes were late getting out of the
pen, so pilot Richard van Heuvelen moved in low and gave them his wing
to fly near. Now every-birdy was airborne! Shortly after departure, one
slow bird dropped off Joe's wing. Then Brooke moved into position to allow
the lone bird an easier ride as the only crane getting the benefit of
the ultralight's wing vortices. Helped along by a northwest tailwind,
they all arrived about an hour later in LaSalle County, Illinois. First
came Joe with twelve. Second came Brooke with his lone bird. And after
a couple of minutes, along came Richard with his two. HOORAY! That's another
47.6 miles logged on the journey south!
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| Last Fall (2002) |
This Fall |
| Map
the Migration |
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Photo OM/WCEP |
Try This! Journaling Questions
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Which crane is pictured here? (Click to enlarge, then see Banding Codes.) If the crane could talk, what do you think it might be saying?
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Check last year's map, above, to see where they were on Day 10 last year. What's your prediction for arrival date in Florida? Have you revised your earlier predictions?
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational
adventure made possible by the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
Copyright
2003-2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
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