I was a lucky viewer at Hiwassee this morning and this afternoon. It was one of the most incredible events I have ever witnessed. You can't imagine the efforts made by the pilots to herd these magnificent cranes through the air and to keep them following behind the ultralights. Today, some of the cranes seemed to be leading the ultralights and unfortunately it was back to the pen. The views were wonderful but the disappointment was great that the cranes did not form up in an orderly manner for their departure. It all looked pretty chaotic with the birds and planes all over the place, like a dogfight in an old war movie with open cockpit planes. I later thought that if I had been up there in the middle of it, I probably would have headed for the security of my pen too. The Operation Migration pilots made a heroic effort. You really have to see them at work first hand to have an understanding of what all is involved in getting these birds on the move and safely to their destination. Marcia Davis Knoxville, TN =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx (423) 764-3958 =========================================================