Operation Crane Rodeo

Hi there Mary,

Whew what a day for Operation Migration. They are really close to the end and have been waiting 7 days to finsh. I guess they got a little impatient and they flew in marginal weather.

Evidently they had what they call a 'crane rodeo'. The cranes started out flying but then the ultralights started going through patchy fog and it freaked the cranes out. One 'dropped out' of the flight right away. Then some more. Finally 10 of the 17 cranes got part way and one got all the way to the next to the last stopover. But the other 5 were all over the place.

The 'top cover' pilots had to land because the fog caused them to fly at the same height as the cranes and so they couldn't keep track of the drop outs. Whew what a busy day.

Last post is that all but one are accounted for and they are fairly sure they know where that one it.

However we have to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.

This migration is already almost 2 months longer than the rest.

Whew!

Love,

Nancy