In the film, Amy (played by Anna Paquin) was raised in New Zealand and then moved to Canada after her mother's death. In real life, Anna Paquin was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand.
Amy's fake nose ring was Anna Paquin's attempt at being humorously rebellious, to see what the crew would say if she had pierced her nose mid-shoot. She found the fake ring in a 'neat junky jewelry store' in Toronto, and got it for free. To her disappointment, her attempt at being rebellious was well-received, as Carroll Ballard decided to use the nose-ring gag in the film as well.
Based on the true story of William Lishman's and Joseph Duff's experiments on migrating birds. Lishman and Duff provided actual "imprinted" birds for the making of the film, as well as the actual aircraft used. The film is also based on the experience of Dr. William J. L. Sladen, a British-born zoologist and adventurer, who aided Lishman with the migration.
Release of the film was delayed after a seven-year-old girl, Jessica Dubroff, was killed at the controls of a small plane that crashed amidst a much-publicized transcontinental flight attempt, along with her father and flight instructor.
Nine years after they played father and daughter in Fly Away Home (1996), Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin played characters in a relationship in The Squid and the Whale (2005). Jeff Daniels said while promoting the later movie that it made filming a bit awkward for both of them. In one interview, when asked how he and Paquin got through filming their sex scene, he said "we tried not to think about...you know, geese."