A team of conservationists, 3 ultra-light aircraft, and 16 whooping cranes have recently passed the half-way mark of a 1230-mile southward migration from Wisconsin's Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. This eclectic group began their journey on October 13, 2002, and has now traveled over 620 miles in 35 days.

Each day, the team records its progress in an online field journal where readers can follow the day-to-day events and challenges the migrating cranes and their caretakers encounter. Their progress, sometimes halted by disagreeable weather and slowed by an occasional wayward crane, represents great strides toward the ultimate goal of establishing new, wild populations of migrating whooping cranes.

Read Operation Migration's current field journal →

This journey is only the second aircraft-assisted whooping crane migration in history and represents a wealth of research and planning that began in the late 1980's. The assisted-migration technique, pioneered by William Lishman and William Carrick, was first applied to non-endangered species such as Canada geese and Sandhill cranes. By studying the flight patterns, migration habits, and imprinting behavior of these non-endangered birds, Lisman, Carrick, and fellow conservationists were able to refine their assisted-migration techniques and reduce the risk posed to birds-in-training.

Operation Migration and the Whooping Crane Recovery Team

The whooping crane migration and reintroduction project is a partnership effort between Operation Migration and the Whooping Crane Recovery Team. Operation Migration, established in 1994 by William Lishman and Joseph Duff, is a non-profit organization whose aim is to help restore migration routes of rare and endangered birds. The Whooping Crane Recovery Team (WCRT) is a group of non-profit organizations and government agencies whose aim is to reintroduce a migratory flock of whooping cranes to eastern North America. WCRT includes organizations such as the International Crane Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Operation Migration, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Help Operation Migration continue their work →

About Whooping Cranes

With an average height of five feet, the whooping crane is North America's tallest bird. The whooping crane has a red crown and face, white body, and black wing-tips. Its wingspan averages an impressive seven feet in breadth. When in flight, whooping cranes are most readily distinguished by their outstretched neck and long trailing legs.

It is thought that, in 1860, the whooping crane population was about 1,400 individuals. Their numbers dwindled to only 15 birds by 1941, due to habitat loss and hunting. The wild population recovered to more than 180 individuals that until now all belonged to a single migratory group. The current reintroduction efforts, aimed at establishing other wild, migrating crane populations, are key to the continued survival of this magnificent bird.

Find out more:

• OM's Work with Cranes
• Assisted migration projects
• About the OM Team
• Migration Map
• Conditioning the Cranes