The specially designed ultralight came in, and all the birds, the youngest fliers of this year, lifted off gracefully, following behind. A couple more practice runs were made, the chicks rewarded, and after some comedy involving adults trying to head into the pen, they were done for the day.

From there, we went to the observation tower to watch for another cohort with more hours of flight time logged. We were rewarded with the sound of calling Whooping Cranes piercing the quiet of the early morning, then a close fly over. Some of the birds blended into the top of the ultralight, creating the illusion of being painted onto the canvas. Bobbie told us this is not desirable behavior, making the pilots more than a bit nervous. No one wants to be responsible for the death of an endangered Whooping Crane, and that close flying puts the birds at greater risk.