The Group Of Nine Juveniles Never Made It To Florida For The Winter

That group of nine juvenile endangered whooping cranes which followed an ultralight airplane from Wisconsin to Alabama last winter will likely begin their return migration soon ... without the surrogate adult to lead them.

That's normal, but their odyssey was not. Volunteers from Operation Migration had led the birds as far as Russellville, AL on December 11th when the flights were stopped for an FAA investigation about operating an ultralight for hire. By the time it was resolved, and the volunteers returned from their holiday break, the birds had decided that Russellville was an OK place to stay the winter ... so they did.

They were placed with other sandhill and whooping cranes which had made the migration alone at nearby Wheeler wildlife refuge, according to a report by the TimesDaily.com. A biologist at Wheeler told the paper that he expects that they'll soon begin their natural migration back to the north.

But after making the first flight following the ultralight, they're able to make it back on their own. leaving Operation Migration volunteers to wait until next winter, when they'll lead another group on their first flight south.

FMI: www.operationmigration.org