Whooping cranes continue their migration through Alabama

PARRISH, Alabama -- About a dozen people gathered just after sunrise on a small hill off of Mt Pisgah Road in Walker County to view a flock of five juvenile whooping cranes as they followed behind two ultralight aircraft.

They spent the last couple of days in Walker County after they landed Tuesday as part of their journey from Wisconsin to Florida.

Operation Migration leads a group of the once nearly extinct whooping cranes on a migratory journey each year. They raise the birds in captivity and begin training them - before they hatch - to follow ultralight aircraft. This year's route will take the group approximately 1285 miles and finish in Wakulla, Fla.

"Pilots determine how far the group flies each day," said Liz Condie, part of the ground crew with Opera Migration.

She said it can change depending on how the birds are doing and what kind of push they are getting with the wind.