By Recreational Aviation Foundation Illinois Liaison Mike Purpura
There was a different kind of fly-in recently at Havana Regional Airport (9I0) in Illinois.
The 2,200′ turf airstrip is situated on a sandy plain near the Illinois River and the Emiquon Wildlife Refuge, which comes alive every spring with the migration of thousands of birds.
On Saturday, March 7, 2020, Havana Regional was again the site of this year’s Migratory Bird Fly-In. This is the third year for the fly-in.
I have attended all three of these fly-ins and have never been disappointed in what I saw and learned.
This year, seven pilots and their guests enjoyed a day of discovery on the Emiquon, along with airport hospitality. The $50 charge covered meals and all transportation.
The weather was crisp and high pressure was settling as we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and real maple syrup. The wind was 170° at 15 knots blowing across the East–West runway, and many of the birds, sensing the high pressure and wind out of the south, took off northbound for their all-night, migratory flight, which would take them 200 miles closer to their breeding grounds around Hudson Bay.
Some of the group expressed apprehension that we would miss the rest of the birds, so we were driven to the Emiquon with this thought in mind.
Arriving at our first stop we could not get the binoculars to our eyes fast enough, and we were treated to the sight of Trumpeter Swans, ducks, and Snow Geese.
Aaron Yetter, director of the Forbes Wildlife Research Station, gave a running interpretation of what we were seeing.
The habits and movements of these birds are endlessly fascinating. Their ability to thrive, reproduce, and fly thousands of miles, year after year, is truly an incredible adaptation.
Considering the thousands of years these species have existed, they have witnessed the coming and going of glaciers, forests, and wetlands.
What we saw next was truly amazing. As we stood near an observation point on the shore of Thompson Lake in the Emiquon, we noticed loose V-formations of birds streaming in from the northwest. These birds were in no hurry to head north. Instead they left early that morning and flew 20 miles to farm fields to forage. Now it was mid-morning and they were returning in increasing numbers.
As we watched, multiple groups of Snow Geese in long formations flew toward Thompson Lake. There were thousands of birds about 1,200′ above the ground. The formations ended abruptly over the eastern end of the lake.
The graceful V-formations disintegrated into a chaotic ball of birds seemingly slipping out of the sky with rapid left and right knife edge maneuvers. They were in a controlled fall toward the safety of the lake.
A white raft of birds was forming, like an ice floe growing larger by the minute. A constant stream of birds, several miles long, fed this chaotic gaggle for over an hour until they somehow found their place in this floating mass.
When the skies cleared, all anyone could see was a white raft of birds with the sound of their prehistoric calls reaching our ears.
Everyone enjoyed the experience. When we returned to the airport we were treated to a great meal of fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, and baked beans.
Next year we can count on the birds being there. I hope we can count on more pilots flying in to see them.
Recently, the Recreational Aviation Foundation contributed grant money to upgrade the airport’s pilot shelter, adding a shower and restroom facility. The Port Authority has also helped make 9I0 one of the friendliest airports in Illinois.