90 Minutes in the Walmart Parking Lot

“Not much happens early in the morning in Citrus County,” said my brother as we drove into the Walmart parking lot  in Homosassa, Florida about 8:00 a.m.  I had read in the previous day’s newspaper that the five young whooping cranes and their ultralight plane "parents" were to fly over en route from Wisconsin (they left there in October) to their winter home in Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, only a few miles away.  They were to be led by two ultralight airplanes.  This was an adventure, and an opportunity to spend precious bonding time with my brother.

Wood Stork

Bird watching while waiting

As we were standing in the parking lot, observing the other bird enthusiasts, my brother pointed to a wood stork flying overhead.  I had an up-close encounter with one last year; they are mighty ugly but they look impressive flying in the distance – certainly more so than the constant supply of seagulls. 

What is this?

A man pulled up next to us, seemingly curious about the gathering crowd with their cameras and binoculars.  A police siren sounded in the distance and my brother said, jokingly, “It's the Whooping Crane parade!”  "Really?" said the man, sounding surprised and a little bit excited. He asked more questions and my brother made a joke about wearing his hat to protect his crainium when the birds flew over.  The man walked away, clearly not as amused by us as we were by ourselves.

In the starting gate

Homing pigeons heading home

No ordinary pigeons  
Two men in a station wagon unloaded small boxes in the corner of the parking lot. We saw a whooosh of pigeons emerge,  flying in formation overhead.  “Homing pigeons,” said my brother.  We talked to the men, who were very nice and enthusiastic about their hobby.  They raise and race pigeons; these birds were new and only flying 20 miles home that day.  We were invited to look at those still in their carrying crate.  Suddenly they released them; the birds were very glad to get out of that box and began circling the parking lot.  


One suggestion:  If you ever meet someone who raises pigeons, do not make the mistake of asking “So how are these pigeons different from the ones you find in the park?”  That is much like asking a thoroughbred breeder how his horse differs from the nag pulling a plow in the field.  Oops. 

Maiden flight for this group of homing pigeons

Craning for the Cranes

Soon we began to hear whispers through the small crowd that the lead plane was coming into sight.  We could hear a humming sound and by following the pointing hands, discovered the orange top  of the “mother” plane leading the five first-time flyers.  We quickly noticed there were only four birds behind the plane and were concerned that something had gone awry for one of them.  Our fears were squelched when we saw a tiny black dot behind the second aircraft.  It was the little slacker, bringing up the rear. 

It was quite a sight to behold.  Partly because we spend an hour standing on the Walmart asphalt on a chilly winter morning, but mostly because it was good to be among those welcoming the cranes to their new home.

Courtesy of the International Crane Foundation

Background on the Cranes

The 1996 movie Fly Away Home is the story of a young girl who raises geese and becomes their Mama, teaching them to follow an ultralight plane and migrating south for the winter.  Similar techniques were employed to teach these crane chicks to migrate.

Suit worn by humans working with crane chicks

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia

Whooping crane chicks raised to be introduced into the wild - and this migratory program - are only exposed to humans  wearing wearing special white suits, disguising their human features to look more crane-like.  Their human friends also wear a puppet on one hand that looks like the head of an adult whooping crane.  The whooping cranes we saw are the latest addition to the eastern flock that was established in 1999.

The International Whooping Crane Recovery Team is a team of American and Canadian ornithologists and biologists that recommend policy to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife service for the protection of the species, primarily those that migrate from Canada to Texas.  They established the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP)  and the additional migratory flock that winters in Florida and spends it summers in central Wisconsin.  Operation Migration’s method of ultralight-led migration was sanctioned by the Whooping Crane Recovery Team and Operation Migration planned and led this mission.  Many of the chicks they work with are raised at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. 

See the Operation Migration website for a journal of the work with the chicks, photographs of the volunteers dressed in white suits with crane puppet heads training the chicks, and their initial training flights with the ultralights.  One of the ultralights, along with the special suit, is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (part of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum).

Courtesy International Crane Foundation

Whooping Crane Facts
The whooping crane has a 7-8 foot wing span and stands about 5 feet tall.  Their lifespan in the wild is 22-24 years.


In 1941, the wild population was down to 21 birds and in 1967 it was declared an endangered species. There are only about 650 of them in the world. 

As part of their courtship ritual, they whoop and dance.  They mate for life.

The only naturally occurring whooping cranes spend their summers in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada and winters in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.  In 2006 there were 200 birds in the flock.  They migrate in the spring and fall along a narrow corridor between the two locations.

With the introduction of the Eastern flock, that the new Florida residents belong to, and the intervention of the many cooperating organizations that protect the birds, the population has increased to more than 400 wild birds and about 150 captive birds.