Whooping Cranes Near

UPDATE: The Whooping crane flyover is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday morning, December 13 at the Dunnellon/Marion County Airport, 150 SE 111th St. (off Hwy 484E) in Dunnellon.
Weather permitting, the cranes and planes will attempt to pass near the airport en route to their finaly destination. The public should plan to arrive at the aiport at 8 a.m. Following the flyover, the pilots will return to the airport to talk to the public.

This event is based on suitable weather forecasts. A hotline has been set up for easy access to up-to-date information. Call 904-232-2580 ext. 124 early in the morning to learn the details of the flight.

At the airport, a group called the Yankee Air Force will have a pancake breakfast available for $3 per person.






Whooping Cranes, birds of whopping size, with the help of dedicated human guides in untralights, are soon to land in Marion County, Florida, after a nearly 1200 mile migration from Wisconsin. Nineteen young cranes are being led to their over-wintering grounds after hatching in captivity and being trained for four months to follow their human guides.

The nineteen whoopers will join a flock of older birds hatched and trained over the past five years. Most of the older flock members have already found their way to Florida. The flock is the beginning of a Wisconsin-Florida population designed by ornithologists to ensure survival of the endangered species should the Canada-Texas population of about 150 cranes be struck by disaster. The cranes reproduce at about five years of age, so next year may see the older wild birds contributing chicks to the growing flock. The captive breeding and training program will continue until the flock is self-sustaining.

On the last leg of the migration the Whooping Cranes will fly over the Dunnellon Airport as they are led to the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve east of Dunnellon. The date of the "fly-over" is uncertain because of weather conditions. Crane enthusiasts can check Cedar Key News or Operation Migration's web site for the date, which may be between December 13 and December 20.