Sunday, February 10, 2008

Whooping Crane Winter

A friend asked me this week, "what are the whooping cranes doing?" I answered, "they arrived in Florida, January 28th". I was speaking of the 17 juveniles of the ultralight migration class of 2007 and today I would add that they are now enjoying top-net free foraging in the salt marshes of the Chassahowitzka NWF. The rest of the 59 Whooping cranes in the eastern migratory flock are scattered throughout the east, with 23 in Florida and 18 wintering in Tennessee.

The original flock of migrating whooping cranes winter along the coast of Texas on the Aransas-Matagorda Island NWR and have reached a record number of 266.

Wintering whooping cranes are all pretty much doing the same thing this time of year--foraging, hunting for blue crab and other delicacies in the salt-marshes, hanging out in families or wandering in bachelor groups. The photo above captures a subadult whooping crane foraging for wolf berries on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. His tattered look is due to molting.
The photos below were also taken at Aransas. The first image is a whooping crane parent and juvenile foraging in an inland pool. The juvenile still has its distinctive cinnamon feathers on his head and neck and his black facial mask is developing.
Another shot of a family on their territory. All the whooping crane families have established territories that they return to each year. The adults will chase away any new arrivals.
Below, a bachelor group of six subadult whooping cranes captured while I was on a boat tour last February. Bachelor groups consist of both males and females. This is one of the ways that young whooping cranes get acquainted after they leave their parents. Whooping cranes must reach four to five years of age before they select their lifetime mate and begin nesting.
Whooping cranes and coastal marshes are fun to daydream about on a cold winter day.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Ocean Trail at Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, California--2015

Ocean Trail at Palos Verdes Nature Preserve, California--2015

Bird-banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park--2014

Bird-banding at Seven Islands State Birding Park--2014
Photo courtesy of Jody Stone

Bird-banding at Seven Islands

Bird-banding at Seven Islands
Photo courtesy of Karen Wilkenson

Enjoying Gray Jays in Churchill!--2014

Enjoying Gray Jays in Churchill!--2014
Photo courtesy of Blue Sky Expeditions

Smithsonian National Zoo with one of my Whooping Crane banners and son, John--2014

Smithsonian National Zoo with one of my Whooping Crane banners and son, John--2014

The Incredible Muir Woods near Stinson Beach, CA--2014

The Incredible Muir Woods near Stinson Beach, CA--2014
Photo courtesy of Wendy Pitts Reeves

Me and Denali--2012

Me and Denali--2012
Photo courtesy of Bob King

For the Love of It...

...the sage sees heaven reflected in Nature as in a mirror, and he pursues this Art, not for the sake of gold or silver, but for the love of the knowledge which it reveals.
Sendivogius (1750)

Your Uncapped Creativity...

Your Uncapped Creativity...
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action; and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. You must keep that channel open. It is not for you to determine how good it is, nor how valuable. Nor how it compares with other expressions. It is for you to keep it yours, clearly and directly." ----the great dancer, Martha Graham