Operation Migration Ultralight-Assisted Whooping Crane Migration Public Fly-Over Event 2/2

Operation Migration Ultralight-Assisted Whooping Crane Migration Public Fly-Over Event, Dunnellon Airport, Florida 01/14/2011. Filmed in HD (High Definition,1080p). For optimum viewing, view in HD, Full Screen. If playback becomes intermittent, allow clip to download first by clicking the Pause button (which pauses playback but not download) until the adjacent red download progress bar to the right is fully extended, then click the Play button. The Whooping Cranes are coming! Operation Migration (OM) Ultralight-led annual fall migration arrives Dec-Jan, final 2 journey legs in Florida, Crystal River environs, with flyover public events at Dunnellon Airport & Homosassa Walmart. "Due to destruction of habitat and over-hunting, Whooping Cranes were on the verge of extinction in the 1940s when their population was reduced to only 15 birds...the Whooping Crane is a critically imperiled North American crane species with fewer than 250 birds in a single wild population...the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP)...was formed to implement...restoring a migratory population of whooping cranes to eastern North America...Operation Migration (OM)...originated...a unique method...for an aircraft-led bird migration...OM's work...became the subject for the major motion picture, Fly Away Home...the migration takes place...typically beginning in early October...Using four ultralight trike aircraft, OM's pilots...cover from 0 to 200 miles per day depending on weather conditions... More than half the days of the migration are spent on the ground, waiting for weather conditions to improve...The migration passes through seven states, covers 1250 miles, and takes anywhere from 60 to 90 days to complete...On reaching Florida, the [flock] is split into two groups. Half winters on the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge just south of Tallahassee, and the other on the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on Florida's west coast." (-- http://www.bringbackthecranes.org & http://www.operationmigration.org As the migration reaches Florida, generally arriving mid-December-late January, on the final legs of the journey there are typically 2 flyover events open to the public, at (1) Dunnellon Airport, Dunnellon, Marion County, Florida, often on a Friday from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM, followed the next day by a flyover of the parking lot of the (2) Homosassa Wal-Mart, Citrus County, Florida. At such events, which are typically set up with various information booths, the ultralight trikes and birds circle around for viewing opportunities. At Dunnellon, the aerial posse continues a short distance across Hwy-484, which both borders and runs between the airport and the H‏álpata Tastanaki Preserve directly across from the airport, at which preserve the birds are dropped off and sequestered in their travel pen, after which the pilots return to the airport, to land, provide the public an opportunity to meet the flight crew, & over-night hangar their aircraft. Folks interested in attending the flyovers, as mid-December approaches, can check the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) Migration Hotline below for daily updates, as well as follow the progress on the OM Migration Map, Timelines, Routes & Journal sites. For viewing the Whooping Cranes at their reserve in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge(CNWR), note that "The refuge is the new home of the next migratory population of whooping cranes. Crane area is off limits to the public [BUT] The cranes do fly outside the pens and may be observed from a boat". -- Chassahowitzka River Trail http://www.citrusbirdingtrail.com/Chassahow.html 2 boat trails are available, the Chassahowitzka River Trail (longer, launching from Chasshowitzka Boat Ramp), & the Nature Coast Canoe Trail (shorter, launching from Homosassa Mason Creek boat launch). For an animated view of the boat journey from the Nature Coast Canoe Trail, see the "Google Earth Tour Movie of Kayak route along Florida Nature Coast Canoe Trail" at http://tinyurl.com/4hlbagh For more information, view the "Whooping Cranes Flyer" at http://villagetech.org/Documents/WhoopingCranesFlyer.pdf and the custom Google My Map "Operation Migration (OM) Ultralight-led Whooping Crane Migration Wintering Site at Florida Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge (CNWR)" (can take a while to download, wait till pushpins appear on map) at http://bit.ly/4JpXx7