What greater thrill than watching three ultralight planes leading 14 rare young Whooping Cranes on their first flight to their wintering grounds in Chassahowitzka, Florida! Five crane watchers, Howard Groce, Robbie Hassler, Jessie Baker, Margo Hinkle and Betty Eliason watched as the cover plane came into view at 7:35 AM and at 7:40 AM the ultralights followed. The first trike was leading 6 cranes, the second had 8 following in a straight line and the third, of course, was alone. They were in view approximately 10 minutes. We have found the Bloomington Community to have a wide viewing area. The cranes left Adair County, KY at 6:57 AM heading for their destination in Cumberland County. The route has been changed slightly this year to avoid some of the problems they experienced last year in the Sequatchie Valley area. I am anxious to read the posting of the next flight to Hiawassee to see if the change improved things. Robbie Hassler Byrdstown, TN Pickett County =================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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================