Website of the Day - Operation Migration

Operation Migration was founded in 1994 as a
non- profit charitable organization by Bill Lishman and Joe Duff. That was five years after Bill became the first human to fly with birds, and one year after the two artists, turned biologists, used ultralight aircraft to lead a small flock of Canada geese from Ontario, Canada to Virginia, USA. The unassisted return migration of these geese the following spring garnered world-wide attention that led to the making of the hit movie Fly Away Home with Columbia Pictures.

Quoted from their website:

Our Canada Geese Story

Our
entire story begins with the Canada geese. Without these majestic creatures that proved birds can learn a migration route, we wouldn't have a story.

Since childhood, co-founder Bill Lishman dreamed of flying with birds. He got closer to his dream as a grown-up, when he became an avid ultralight aviator. Then, one fateful night he and his family traveled to Toronto to see the IMAX film, "Skyward." As Lishman watched the geese in the film follow a boat, he wondered if they would also follow an airplane?

The film's animal trainer, William Carrick, had the answer Lishman wanted. With Carrick's help, Lishman began working with the geese since, as non-endangered species, they posed fewer technical and environmental risks.

And the rest, literally, was history. In 1988, Lishman lead 12 geese on local flights. Then, in 1994, he and partner Joseph
Duff helped 18 geese migrate from Ontario to Virginia.

Reaching his childhood dream gave Lishman a new focus. He and Duff formed Operation Migration for another dream: to save endangered species by introducing safe migratory routes.

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