Cranes and Planes Gain 114 Miles
Monday, October 29, 2012
Weekly Updates
The cranes and their migration team of costumed humans start this week at Stopover #8 in Piatt County, halfway through the state of Illinois. They landed here October 26, Migration day 32, after a record 13 down-days at Stopover #6 in LaSalle County, IL. With help from good tailwinds, they zoomed their way right over Livingston County, Illinois (55 mi) and onward to Piatt County (59 mi).
They've completed 289 miles of the 1101-mile trip to St. Marks NWR in Florida. Today, however, Operation Migration's Liz Condie writes: "While the Eastern seaboard battens down the hatches in preparation for Hurricane Sandy’s landfall sometime today, with the wind picking up here in Piatt County we’ll be checking pen tie downs and top netting to make sure all is secure too as we spend a third day on the ground."
The Class of 2012 gained miles last week, but they lost a valuable and beloved bird. Brave female #10-12 did not survive emergency surgery on her leg, broken upon landing after Friday's flight to Piatt County. The team was heartbroken, and so are we.
Hurricane Sandy brings uncertainty to this week's events, including migration, but we wish the best for anyone in the wake of this storm. We send cheers and admiration to the migration team and birds as they continue this historic and important journey south. Join us in keeping up with daily reports on Operation Migration's site, and don't miss Journey North's rich array of classroom materials. We'll post our next summary Monday, November 5.
Image: Operation Migration
Operation Migration's Daily Field Journal Migration updates posted daily at Operation Migration website so you can follow along. |
 Fall 2012 Migration (map | stopovers) |
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Journey North is presented by Annenberg Learner.
Partial funding for this news update has been made possible through Operation Migration by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Southern Company through the Power of Flight Program.
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