Russellville, Al.
Operation Migration officials attempted to continue leading a migration of nine whooping cranes to Florida on Sunday, but eventually aborted the flight because the birds kept breaking off from the pack.
Flying ultralight aircraft to lead the birds, pilots took off from the Russellville Municipal Airport at about 7:30 a.m., but soon had to end the flights because the cranes were separating, according to entries Sunday at operationmigration.org. The crew gathered the birds and returned them to their crates.
One entry stated it doesn’t appear they will be able to resume the flight today because of winds and the threat of rain.
The flock of juvenile whooping cranes had been grounded in Russellville by government regulations since Dec. 11.
Last week, an attorney representing Operation Migration announced the Federal Aviation Administration granted the organization a waiver allowing its pilots to use ultralight aircraft to lead the young cranes to two wildlife refuges in Florida, where the birds will spend the winter.
The assisted migration was voluntarily put on hold in Russellville after federal aviation regulators expressed concern that Operation Migration could be violating government regulations that prohibit pilots of ultralight aircraft from receiving compensation for their work.
Operation Migration officials said their pilots are not compensated as pilots, but receive pay for other duties performed for the organization that is helping restore North America’s wild whooping crane population. The organization’s pilots use ultralight aircraft to lead whooping cranes that were raised in captivity from their summer homes in Wisconsin.
The pilots wear whooping crane costumes to prevent the birds from becoming dependant on humans. Once a flock of juvenile whooping cranes follows the ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to Florida, the rare birds can make the journey on their own and teach their offspring the migration route.
Operation Migration officials attempted to continue leading a migration of nine whooping cranes to Florida on Sunday, but eventually aborted the flight because the birds kept breaking off from the pack.
Flying ultralight aircraft to lead the birds, pilots took off from the Russellville Municipal Airport at about 7:30 a.m., but soon had to end the flights because the cranes were separating, according to entries Sunday at operationmigration.org. The crew gathered the birds and returned them to their crates.
One entry stated it doesn’t appear they will be able to resume the flight today because of winds and the threat of rain.The flock of juvenile whooping cranes had been grounded in Russellville by government regulations since Dec. 11.
Last week, an attorney representing Operation Migration announced the Federal Aviation Administration granted the organization a waiver allowing its pilots to use ultralight aircraft to lead the young cranes to two wildlife refuges in Florida, where the birds will spend the winter.
The assisted migration was voluntarily put on hold in Russellville after federal aviation regulators expressed concern that Operation Migration could be violating government regulations that prohibit pilots of ultralight aircraft from receiving compensation for their work.
Operation Migration officials said their pilots are not compensated as pilots, but receive pay for other duties performed for the organization that is helping restore North America’s wild whooping crane population. The organization’s pilots use ultralight aircraft to lead whooping cranes that were raised in captivity from their summer homes in Wisconsin.
The pilots wear whooping crane costumes to prevent the birds from becoming dependant on humans. Once a flock of juvenile whooping cranes follows the ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to Florida, the rare birds can make the journey on their own and teach their offspring the migration route.
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