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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" .---- baad ae PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, April 25, 1995 - 5 EA Co D> PORT PERRY STARS NITY MMU More success for migration project By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star The fantastic tale of Bill Lishman and his geese contin- ues. Six months after dropping out of sight completely and be" given up for lost, the flock that Mr. Lishman raised and taught to fly south returned last week, marking another success for his Operation Migration exper- iment. Twenty-nine of the wayward honkers flew into their Nestleton home station last week, half a year after being led to South Carolina by Mr. Lishman and his team of ultra- light pilots. "It was like a rebirth," he beamed as he knelt among the geese in their pen Saturday. "We had written them off," said the Purple Hill sculptor. "We figured they were gone; history." The odyssey for Mr. Lishman and his geese began last spring, when for the second time he mounted an attempt to raise the birds from infancy and lead them south on the migratory flight that should come natu- rally, but has been forgotten over generations as Canada geese have either lost the guid- ance of older generations, or opted for the easy life of living year-round in the north and subsisting on handouts and rubbish in our municipal parks and towns. From the moment of their birth, the goslings were "imprinted", emerging from their eggs in the presence of the ultralight planes that would, in essence, become their mothers. Throughout the sum- mer Mr. Lishman and his crew flew with the birds, taking off from their landing strip at the Nestleton sod farm, and then coming back to earth. After the summer of training the aerial convoy of ultralights, men and geese took off from Nestleton last Oct. 11, flying 400 miles over six days to Airlie, Virginia. Time was spent there observing the geese and allowing them to adapt to their new environment, and on Dec. 1, the final leg of the voyage, to Cat Island in South Carolina, was made. Two days after Mr. Lishman and partner Joe Duff left, though, the geese vanished. Despite the help of local media and residents in both North and South Carolina, none of the birds were sighted through the winter. The crew were left disappointed, assum- ing the experiment had failed. Then came April. Mr. Lishman received word that one of the geese -- Igor by name -- had been spotted in Niagara Falls. The birds are easily identifiable because of the bright yellow bands around $4 #4 A BEAMING BILL Lishman kneels among the 29 Canadian geese that returned to their home in Nestleton last week after vanishing last winter in the southern U.S. They are the second flock he has raised and taught to migrate south as part of his Operation Migration experiment. Mr. Lishman's work is to be the basis for a feature movie that is to begin filming this summer. In addition, he plans to start work soon with other species of birds, like the Whooping crane. He said this year's success, following a similar result in 1994, lends his project credibility. their necks. Thinking at least a portion of the project could be saved, Mr. Lishman prepared to travel to Niagara to fetch the bird. But the following morning, the majority of the flock flew in to Nestleton. Shortly thereafter four more birds arrived, led by the enigmatic Igor. In all, 29 of the 30 birds led south last fall returned. The result, of course, was jubilation. "It adds a lot more credibility to (the project)," said Mr. LLishman, who saw 13 of 18 geese return after being led to the southern U.S. in 1993. "It's an absolute success." As for where the geese spent the winter, it's anybody's guess, he said. "I'd like to know," said Mr. Lishman. "We were with them two days in South Carolina, and then they vanished." And now, the work contin- ues. Operation Migration has been registered as a charitable organization with a mandate to work for the preservation of endangered waterfowl. Plans are afoot to work with such species as Whooping and Sandhill cranes this year. And this summer Columbia Pictures will begin production of a feature film based on the migration project. Mr. Lishman and Mr. Duff, a professional photographer, will raise anoth- er flock of geese this year and, once again, lead them on the long trek south, this time shoot- ing with a movie camera mounted on the frame of one of the ultralight aircraft. And the geese? When their work for the film is done, they will be released into the wild. To go -- and come home -- as they please. QUESTION OF THE WEEK Have you decided who you will vote for in the next provincial election?