Hiwassee Refuge Meigs Co., TN. Much to the delight of 45 or so spectators, just after 8 AM this morning the Whooping Cranes were released to continue their southward migration. Again this year, the birds were reluctant to leave. A total of four passes were made over or very near the gazebo. One aircraft left on it's second attempt with three cranes in tow. The other two aircraft made additional passes as the birds would break away making an attempt to return to the enclosure that had been their home since last Tuesday. Finally, the other thirteen birds formed up and began to surf/flap behind one of the aircraft. The third aircraft was now freed up to fly chase position slightly behind the main group and keep guard in case one or more of the birds decided to break away. That's what we saw as we wished this group a safe journey on their continued quest for the wintering grounds on the gulf coast of Florida! Actually, it wasn't that cut and dry as it took over thirty minutes of crane wrangling by the aircraft operators before all the birds flew out of sight. About the time I was ready to return home, a cell phone call came through to one of the team members stating four of the birds were on their way back. I don't think anyone in our group saw them fly back into Hiwassee but a few of us saw them being trucked away later. These four will get a free ride to somewhere in the Calhoun, Georgia area. I had wondered since last year just what the attraction was for the birds not to want to leave Hiwassee? Some of my speculation centered on the fact that they can see and hear thousands of Sandhill cousins nearby. I think I may have came across the real reason a few moments ago as I was rereading my copy of Operation Migrations Spring `03 newsletter -IN...Formation-. The permanent pen constructed here at Hiwassee is actually built with one end of the pen in a watery marsh area. The article goes on to say this is the first time the birds have had opportunity to forage in water since leaving the wetlands of Necedah. Could this "avian utopia" be the reason for their reluctance to leave Hiwassee? Most of us had felt it was due to plain ole good Tennessee hospitality! Jimmy Wilkerson Hixson, 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. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================