operation migration

I was listing the pages of Taipei Times newspaper when I came through an interesting photo of a small aircraft leading migratory birds in the sky. I immediately opened Google, and searches led me to www.operationmigration.org (website of Operation Migration group);
...What is aircraft-led migration?

This technique relies on the birds' natural instinct called imprinting. Imprinting means the just-hatched waterfowl chick immediately trusts the first object it sees and follows the object. As soon as the chicks hatch, they bond with their parents and become inseparable. The OM team acts as surrogate parents, helping the birds imprint on the aircraft and conditioning them to fly with it. Later, when the birds are mature, they are led south by the OM team on a pre-determined route to a safe wintering site... (read more)