December 12, 2004 Migration Day 64 Whoopee! Home at Last Today it happened: The pilots led the remaining 13 endangered crane-kids the final 78 miles to their new winter home! It was the glorious end of the journey south that taught these chicks the migratory route they'll fly the rest of their lives. Richard's ultralight and 6 cranes fly over Crystal River Mall at 9:23 a.m. Brooke's ultralight and the other 7 cranes appear 16 minutes later. About 1500 "craniacs" awaited the flyover. Photos OM In a thrilling flyover just 12 minutes before they touched down at their new winter home, a waiting crowd got a rare and final glimpse of this year's flock in flight with the ultralights. The sky was flawless blue. The air was cool and northwinds helped push them along. Those tailwinds were way up at 1400 feet, so we really had to crane our eyes to see! The crowd gathered before daybreak. Finally, at 9:23 an excited shout went up: "There they are!" A tiny plane and 6 birds appeared as specks in the distance. Listening on her 2-way radio, Heather confirmed it was Richard with his six birds. We watched in awed silence as they passed high overhead, unaware of the thrilled well-wishers below. At 9:39 Brooke's tiny ultralight appeared high overhead, trailed by the remaining seven birds in perfect formation. Joe's ultralight, flying chase, brought up the rear. They were 16 minutes later because only six birds launched with Richard's air pick-up. After sitting for a week in Gilchrist county they were out of practice! Brooke and Joe wrangled the remaining seven birds for 20 minutes before they all gathered on Brooke's wingtip. Flight time: 1 hour, 49 minutes. Clip: Just weeks ago.. Watch It Now Tips A joyous celebration and exclamations broke loose among the loyal crowd! In just minutes, the birds would be "called down" by the crane recordings played by Sara and Charlie, who waited at the pen site on the remote island refuge. This time, as the birds set their wings to land, the ultralights swooped up and away in farewell. These chicks had now seen the last of their ultralight airplane "parents." Like their 35 ultra-cousins in the Eastern flock, these 13 are free-flying birds from now on. After 64 days, long weather delays, a windstorm that damaged a trike, a runaway crane, and a death in the flock, they are safely home after a 1204.4 mile journey. There are now 48 migratory Whooping cranes in the the eastern US! The Importance of This Migration Now the HY 2004 cranes will be learning about blue crabs and tides. All of us who care about them will watch and wait. Will they all survive the winter? Will they avoid predators? Will they choose proper crane habitat? Will they know when and where to return in the spring? If you think this is a lot of work and worry and expense on behalf of so few birds, hear the thoughts of three leaders in Whooping crane conservation. Tom Stehn says, "We need species to survive that have been there since the Ice Age. To keep them alive in captivity--that's just not enough." George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, says that losing this species would be "like destroying original works of art of a great master that can never be reproduced." This audio clip tells what Operation Migration Team Leader Joe Duff thinks. How does Joe think this migration experiment also benefit other endangered species? Audio Clip: Joe Duff Talks About the Importance of This Migration Map the Migration Make your own map using the latest migration data Watch for our final wrap-up report Dec. 17, with news about the cranes' health checks/banding, their first days in Florida, and what's next. Try This! Journaling Questions The goal of this reintroduction project is to build a flock of 125 birds by 2020. How old will you be then? Write a letter to the children you may someday have, describing your thoughts and feelings on this historic day—the completion of the fourth human-led migration of an endangered species. What will you tell them about your opinion of the importance of this priject? What were 3 highlights for you? Why did you choose those 3 events? Save your letter in a special place. Read it way in the future, or give it someday to your children to share your memories of history in the making! (For details, use the 2004 Timeline of Events, daily reports, your Comparing Migrations chart for the details, or look at our completed chart.) What would you say to convince someone else that this project is important? What do you predict will happen to Whooping cranes as a species during YOUR lifetime? Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP). Copyright 2004 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form