Still a few more whooping cranes...

Maestro

After the long journey from the northern Canada breeding grounds, this juvenile was happy to be feeding in the warm, marshy brackish water of Aransas NWR.




These next few may seem like reposts, but they aren't. The whoopers just didn't vary their poses much.

Giphsub

Nice Stephen How big are those birds? They look like they are quite big.

jwear

is it hard to get close there ???? the flocks of cranes are getting smaller from what I hear --you having a good time in texas

Maestro

Giphsub wrote:

Nice Stephen How big are those birds? They look like they are quite big.

The birds are five feet tall. I believe they are the tallest cranes in the world, if not the world in North America.

Maestro

jwear wrote:

is it hard to get close there ???? the flocks of cranes are getting smaller from what I hear --you having a good time in texas

Yes, it is rather difficult and you have to have some luck, but I chartered a local guide with a small boat. He was awesome! We were out there 7 hours on the bay in between the barrier islands off Aransas NWR and it wasn't until the end of the day that I was able to get close enough for some decent pics, but in the meantime until that point, we had a blast just observing all the other birds. He had a shallow draft boat to get right up on shore. The bigger whooping crane tours had these huge boats that didn't allow for much close up action.

In my original thread here: http://www.digitalgrin.com/showthread.php?t=77555 you can find a link to the guide that took me out. You can also see that with a 500mm lens we were pretty close.

Here he is waiting for me to get back to the boat after stalking some whoopers. That is my tripod and long lens on top.


And actually, this flock is continuing to grow. The reintroduced flock that winters in Florida was hit hard by a hurricane last year or the year before last. They lost something like 19 whooping cranes in the hurricane. This flock is the only truly, originally wild flock left and it continues to grow thanks to conservation efforts dating back to the 40s when there were just 14 or 15 left in Aransas. Climate change, pollution and a small genetic pool are the biggest threats to this flock.

Harryb

I wish we had a few of those in my neck of the woods. Its good to see that they are hanging in.

Maestro

Harryb wrote:

I wish we had a few of those in my neck of the woods. Its good to see that they are hanging in.

Well, I had to travel about six hours to get to where they are, but I feel it was more than worth it. You should have some whoopers in the panhandle of Florida. They are part of the reintroduced flock. Of course, I might go back this spring before they leave for two reasons, 1) to take more pics of whoopers and 2) to visit the heron and egret rookery out towards Matagorda Island in Aransas Bay. You should come too.