| Pumpkins! |
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Watch the class of 2007 play with pumpkins - look out for surprises... |
| Pulling Strings |
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Watch bird 726 play with the batten string on Chris' trike |
| Automatic Release Gate |
Gate Designer, Builder, and OM Pilot Richard van Heuvelen demonstrates the new automatic release gate, with the help of OM Pilot Chris Gullikson
How the gate works: Richard and Chris lift the floats with their feet, simulating high water. This automatically trips the gate. |
| Taxi Training |
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Early taxi training with juvenile cranes at the Necedah NWR airstrip.
Video taken by OM pilot Chris Gullikson |
| Flying over Necedah |
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The class of '07 makes an early flight while training with OM Pilot
Chris Gullikson at Necedah NWR. |
| Gliding to Green County, WI |
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Watch as the only bird on on Chris' wing glides in his ultralight's vortices. It's amazing to watch the bird's natural economy of motion. |
| Two birds are better than one |
| This time watch as two birds jockey for position of of Chris' wing. |
| Flapping away |
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One more clip from this segment. Chris did a great job of illustrating what a flight is like on a clear day. Take a moment to consider the inspiring vistas, as well! |
| Landing Gear Down |
| Watch as a pair of cranes from the Class of '07 have a little fun landing. |
| Hurry up little one |
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Having safely landed, Chris taxis to the travel pen. This is a great example of what a typical situation would be for the migration crew during good weather. |
| Clear Skies |
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Check out the scene below as the cranes pass over Kankakee County in Illinois. |
| Morning Exercise |
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Having been penned up for two days, the Class of '07 is eager to stretch their wings - as is evident in this video. |
| Enjoying the Pond |
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The cranes check out a pond near one of the Tennessee stopover locations. |
| Care to Dance? |
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A little bit of agression and a lot of dancing! The members of the Class of '07 are beginning to mature into their adult form, and along with that comes other aspects of crane behaviour. |
| Follow The Leader |
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First one crane steps into the water, then the rest of its classmates follow. |
| Flapping for Joy |
| When the wind gusts for a moment you can see how happy the cranes are to be out of their pen and enjoying freedom. |
| Bath Time - Part One |
| Even cranes need to bathe once in a while! |
| Bath Time - Part Two |
| No one told them they couldn't do the backstroke! Some interesting shots of how cranes take care of their personal hygiene. |
| Georgia |
This video presents a unique perspective - you can see seven cranes flying off of Chris' wing, and just faintly, see Brooke in the background with his trike.
Taken as the cranes and planes flew into Haralson county, GA. |
| Pilot's Eye View |
| A first-person perspective on what it's like to fly with cranes. |
| Taking the Lead |
| OM Pilot races with one of the cranes from the Class of '07 as it tries to assert its dominance over the flock. The juvenile cranes will occasionally try to head out on their own, hoping to lead the ultralight astray. |
| Touchdown! |
| In this video, the cranes try their best to assert the old axom "Any landing you walk away from is a good landing." |
| Goodbye Georgia, hello sunshine |
| Crossing over the Florida/Georgia border, pilot Chris Gullikson thought to capture some video of the blue skies. In the background you can see one of the other trikes providing cover for wayward cranes. |
| Having fun in Florida |
While waiting for a travel pen to be set up, the Class of '07 swoops and whoops near a northern Florida stopover site.
On January 15th, the cranes and planes flew an unexpected 138 miles, landing far beyond the expected landing zone for the day. As a result, the pilots had to crane-sit while the ground crew scrambled to catch up and set up a travel pen!
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| Getting closer |
| Once again the birds flew an unexpected distance, landing in Gilchrist county on the 24th of January. In this video, the cranes show off their grace as they land in unison - much like an aircraft formation. |
| Final Flight |
| A last look at the Class of '07 as they they fly off of Chris' wing. All 17 cranes made the journey safely from Wisconsin to Florida, impressing even the seasoned veterans. |
