Why do you think the cranes can't climb as fast the ultralight planes? Pilot Joe Duff helps us undertand:
Whooping cranes are soaring birds that use their large wing span to sail on rising warm air. They fly like hawks or eagles and don't have to flap their wings very often. These birds are designed to let the air carry them up, which is not nearly as hard work as flapping their wings. They have long narrow wings (high aspect ratio) and low body weight. A five foot tall whooping crane only weighs about 16 pounds.
Compare this to large flap-flying birds like geese and swans, which have large pectoral muscles and shorter broad wings (low aspect ratio). They are generally heavier because they are more muscular.
Most birds can't climb very fast because it's not something they need very often. Airplanes need to climb faster because they need to take off from a runway and the faster they can climb the shorter runway they need to clear obstacles.
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