Bird-aircraft migration isn’t new. Mr. Fritz was inspired by Canadian naturalist Bill Lishman. (A naturalist is anyone who studies the natural world.) You could also call Mr. Lishman “Father Goose.” 

One day, ducks started flying parallel to Mr. Lishman’s home-built plane. That gave Mr. Lishman an idea. He had read about how baby birds imprint. So he decided to hatch his own goslings. He and his family showed the baby birds their faces. They played a recording of the sound of the plane engine. In 1988, Mr. Lishman taught Canada geese to fly alongside his ultra-light plane. He was the first person to do so.

Mr. Lishman later guided endangered whooping cranes along safe migration routes. He started a nonprofit called “Operation Migration.” Mr. Lishman’s work prompted a 1996 movie. In it, a girl acts as the “mother” to baby geese. Mr. Fritz saw that movie. He was inspired.

Like Mr. Lishman, Mr. Fritz’s efforts succeeded. The first ibis successfully migrated back in 2011. More have flown the route—over 300 miles—each year. The team hopes the Central European population will reach more than 350 birds by 2028.

A New Sky Path 

Ibis are migrating later in the season than they once did. That forces them to cross the Alps in colder, more dangerous weather.

People help again. They piloted a new route in 2023, from Bavaria to Andalusia in southern Spain. The birds fly the new route again this year. The entire journey to Spain could take up to 50 days. 

Mr. Fritz says the effort is bigger than just the northern bald ibis. It’s about paving the way for other threatened migratory species to fly.