With the flyover at the Dunnellon, FL airport the morning of January 27th, and the final flight of the chicks to their winter home at Chassahowitzka NWR the following morning, their journey is complete! In just a few months they will get the urge to migrate north, and with luck, weather and timing on their side, we hope all 17 make it back to Necedah! It is always with mixed emotions that each pilot brings in his birds at Chass (they don't land with the birds) and as they pull up and away, even after years of doing this, each has a lump in their throat, knowing the fate of each bird, many they know all too well, now truly rests with nature! As one pilot told me a few years ago, "once you have done all you can do, the birds are free, on their own, and that is what we all want." We'll chat with Beverly and Brooke in an upcoming podcast; they are caring for the chicks out at Chass, and will soon be back at Patuxent to hatch and raise another batch of baby Whooping cranes, soon to be the Class of 2008! If you know the one common thing each flyover has the past 3 years at the Dunnellon Airport (other than that's where they were... not the answer I am seeking though!) send me an e-mail with your name, address and preferred t-shirt size. The first 2 correct answers will get Whooper Happenings t-shirts with the iWhooper on them. Send your answer to whooperhappenings@earthlink.net . Thanks to everyone who shared their comments with me at the flyover, and of course to the entire WCEP project team, especially Operation Migration and a few select members of the International Crane Foundation and Patuxent WRC, whose patience and determination are what really got the Class of 2007 to Florida! Operation Migration Operation Migration

[ Fri, 1 Feb 2008 20:52:00 GMT ]

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