"Chasing The Ghost Birds" Offers Indepth Look At Rescue Efforts

Aircraft are used to locate and gather precious eggs in Alaska for trumpeter swan reintroduction in the Midwest. A private jet makes a historic flight across Russia to help save the endangered Siberian crane. A world hang-gliding champion attempts to lead young Siberian cranes on a 5,000-mile migration. Ultralights successfully teach whooping cranes to migrate from Wisconsin to Florida. And pilots and biologists track migrating cranes across a 1,200-mile route.

A new book, Chasing the Ghost Birds, by veteran aviation writer David Sakrison, documents the essential roles that aviation has played in three of the most important conservation projects of our time. The book is illustrated with drawings, maps, and black & white and color photographs.

Chasing the Ghost Birds portrays the work of the biologists, conservationists, and pilots who are striving to understand and save the world's most endangered birds. The book is filled with interesting details of the birds' habits and natural history, and with lively first-person accounts by the pilots and other people involved in these projects.

For the first time, Chasing the Ghost Birds offers a detailed account of the historic flight across Russia and the Siberian Arctic -- the first ever by a private jet. The book is a true adventure story that will hold the interest of bird lovers, aviators, and armchair adventurers, alike.

Tom Stehn, the Whooping Crane Coordinator for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, calls Chasing the Ghost Birds, "a thorough, accurate, and engaging account of how species can make a comeback."

Author David Sakrison is a former editor of Cessna Owner Magazine and Pipers Magazine, and has written for a variety of other aviation publications and periodicals. He is the Government Affairs reporter for AirVenture Today, and has written the text for many permanent displays at EAA's AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh.

Chasing the Ghost Birds is Sakrison's second book. He spent two years researching the book and interviewing the participants to create a behind-the-scenes look at these magnificent birds and the people who are striving to protect them.

Proceeds from all sales benefit the International Crane Foundation.

FMI: www.savingcranes.org, www.chasingtheghostbirds.com