While my husband was out on his daily run this afternoon, he spotted a pair of Whooping Cranes less than a 1/2 mile from our home.
I didn't initially realize what an amazing opportunity it would be to see one of these in the wild. But after a quick "Google," I decided that this was a rare opportunity that I couldn't pass up and decided to take "Little Man" down to the spot where my husband sighted them to see if we would be able to have the same opportunity!
The Whooping Crane is one of the rarest birds in North America. As of April 2007, it was estimated (by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) that only about 340 exist in the wild. The Whooping Crane is also the tallest bird in North America (at an average of 5 feet) and is currently considered endangered, mainly due to loss of habitat. Wing spans rival that of the Bald Eagle and are, in fact, normally larger at an average 7.5 feet. The Whooping Cranes only know natural predator is the Bobcat -- the only animal both powerful and stealthy enough to prey on an adult whooping crane away from its nesting grounds.
As luck would have it, the pair was still at the spot my husband had told me about. It was amazing! I had my camera in hand but unfortunately the pair was located fairly far off the road on private property. As my camera only has a 3x's zoom, the pictures I took weren't all that great. We went back this evening but, unfortunately, they weren't any closer to the road. "Little man" was so intrigued by the cranes that I promised him that we would go back tomorrow and if they were still there we would ask the property owner if we could get a bit closer in order to take pictures.
I didn't initially realize what an amazing opportunity it would be to see one of these in the wild. But after a quick "Google," I decided that this was a rare opportunity that I couldn't pass up and decided to take "Little Man" down to the spot where my husband sighted them to see if we would be able to have the same opportunity!
The Whooping Crane is one of the rarest birds in North America. As of April 2007, it was estimated (by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) that only about 340 exist in the wild. The Whooping Crane is also the tallest bird in North America (at an average of 5 feet) and is currently considered endangered, mainly due to loss of habitat. Wing spans rival that of the Bald Eagle and are, in fact, normally larger at an average 7.5 feet. The Whooping Cranes only know natural predator is the Bobcat -- the only animal both powerful and stealthy enough to prey on an adult whooping crane away from its nesting grounds.
As luck would have it, the pair was still at the spot my husband had told me about. It was amazing! I had my camera in hand but unfortunately the pair was located fairly far off the road on private property. As my camera only has a 3x's zoom, the pictures I took weren't all that great. We went back this evening but, unfortunately, they weren't any closer to the road. "Little man" was so intrigued by the cranes that I promised him that we would go back tomorrow and if they were still there we would ask the property owner if we could get a bit closer in order to take pictures.
I also read that Whooping Cranes nest in late-April to mid-May and that the eggs incubation period is typically 29-35 days. We are going to continue checking back to see if maybe this pair has been "whooping it up" and are here to stay for a while. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to see Whooping Crane chicks in the near future!!
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