whooping crane migration

Whooping Cranes are on their way to Aransas NWR

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Whooping Cranes migrating south

Last Week, six wild whoopers, one of them a juvenile, were spotted in a field northwest of Cheviot Lake, SK with hundreds of Sandhill Cranes and some Snow Geese. Our friend and supporter Val Mann from Saskatchewan sent us a couple of photos and her observation. Again, we thank Val for her fantastic photos of the wild whoopers.

“Kim and I were out on the grid roads in the central part of Saskatchewan yesterday looking for whooping cranes.  We had seen a report describing six whooping cranes in a farmer’s field earlier this week and wanted to see if they were still there.  About noonish, we saw three of the cranes, still in the area.  They were in the field with a number of sandhill cranes, over a mile from the road. The photos show the whooping cranes very far off in the distance – even for a powerful telephoto lens.”

Whoopers from Wood Buffalo National Park heading for Aransas NWR

Whooping Crane
Whooping Cranes somewhere in Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy of Val Mann

Whoopers take flight

“About 45 minutes later, a very large flock of snow geese took to flight from a nearby slough.  As the snow geese approached the area with the cranes, the cranes stopped feeding and began to look skyward.   Shortly thereafter, the cranes took flight and flew towards a large lake just southeast of the field.”

Whooping Cranes
Whooping Cranes somewhere in Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy of Val Mann

***** FOTWW’s mission is to help preserve and protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo
population of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****

Friends of the Wild Whoopers is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

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The Crane Track: Whooping Crane Migration Story

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School is out for the summer and it’s time to get kids to read books. Friends of the Wild Whoopers recommends “The Crane Track: Whooping Cranes’ Migration … A Tale of Survival” by Gene Steffen.

The Crane Track Whooping Cranes' Migration...book cover
The Crane Track…book cover

The Crane Track uses factual information to build an interesting story. It’s about a two adult whooping cranes and their young chick, Leki. It describes some scary events during their time in the Wood Buffalo nesting area. And then it follows them while they make a 2,400 migration from the Northwest Territories in Canada to Texas.

Leki, the young whooping crane has no idea that a spectacular journey is about to begin. He lives with his parents, Toluki and Karla, in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Leki has had many adventures there, like the day he ran across wild wolves! Still, his biggest adventure is yet to come as his parents prepare for their annual October migration.

Every year, the whooping cranes travel south to warmer climates for the winter. Toluki and Karla plan to take young Leki 2,400 miles, all the way from their home in Canada to a winter resting place near the Gulf of Mexico. The path they take is called “the crane track,” and it is a journey filled with wild weather and hungry hunters.

Whooping cranes are graceful creatures with white feathers and up to an eight-foot wingspan. Once almost extinct, there are now 304 wild whooping cranes in the population that migrates from Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. All whoopers in this population travel the same path as Leki and his parents. Nature is a carefully balanced, beautiful machine. It’s up to us to protect the path of the cranes’ migratory journey. So is little Leki up for the trip?

Whooping cranes on Texas coast where sea level rise may alter habitat conditions.
Whooping cranes on Texas coast where sea level rise may alter habitat conditions.

The book follows the Track the cranes make twice each year and was featured on a National Geographic special, Flight of the Whooping Crane. The author, Gene Steffen, was the pilot during the making of that film. This is a great story to teach children about geography, endangered species, migration and the general wonder of our natural environment.

One source for the book is Amazon.com

 

  

***** FOTWW’s mission is to protect the Aransas/Wood Buffalo population
of wild whooping cranes and their habitat. *****

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