The Nature of Things

(Cross-posted from Backyard Birder .) I've written here (in Backyard Birder ) many times about the project to help save the endangered  Whooping Crane  by   developing an eastern migratory flock  that flies between Wisconsin and Florida twice each year. Young birds are taught the route by training them to fly with an ultralight aircraft. The project has had some success - and some tragedies - and the flock is slowly growing. Of course, Whooping Cranes are not the only members of that long-legged family that are endangered. In fact, many cranes right around the world are seriously endangered. Our own  Sandhill Crane  is a notable exception, probably because of that bird's adaptability and willingness to utilize a variety of foods in its diet. Another critically endangered bird is the  Siberian Crane,  part of whose range extends into Russia, and it turns out that Russian conservationists also have a program based on use of the ultralight to escort ...