Fall Ultralight-Guided Whooping Crane Migration
Wisconsin to Florida

Date: October 12, 2004

Day Three - Standing Down/Fog

On days where we're not moving anywhere with the cranes, and once chores are finished the crew tries to get out to enjoy the fall scenery. We've timed it just right this year and should be following the show of autumn colours as we advance southward. And just because it was too foggy to fly this morning with the cranes,  we did get out to do some flying on our own once the fog lifted and took some photos of the beautiful Sauk County area.

Tatiana, Richard and Dan explore one of the many rock formations near Baraboo.

We're often asked why we don't fly later in the day. Once the sun has had a chance to warm the earth below, thermal activity increases and makes the air at higher altitudes unstable. Often this cannot be detected on the ground, and while the aircraft could likely handle the bumpy conditions just as well as the birds could; we would just be inviting trouble when we mix aircraft with birds in unsteady air. The other consideration is that if a bird were to drop out somewhere, we wouldn't want it to be outside the safety of the predator-proof enclosure overnight.

An aerial view of the cranes inside their travel enclosure as they enjoy tearing apart and eating several pumpkins.

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