The Nature of Things

On our recent late winter vacation, we traveled down the lower Texas Gulf Coast. The main purpose of our ramblings was to see birds, particularly the most majestic and famous birds of this part of the world, the Whooping Cranes. The flock of Whoopers that winters along the Texas coast is the last completely wild flock of these rare and endangered birds. They were once fairly widespread on the northern prairies, but the species was brought to the brink of extinction in the 1940s. The population bottomed out at only fifteen birds. Since then, strict protection has helped the bird begin to recover. The Aransas flock now numbers around 300 birds and there are ongoing efforts to establish other flocks, notably in Florida and Louisiana. These birds nest in central Canada at Wood Buffalo National Park. Beginning around the end of this month they will begin their 2,400 mile flight back to their summer home. By mid April, they will likely all be gone. Whooping Cranes are highly territorial. Mat...

(Cross-posted from Backyard Birder .) I've written here (in Backyard Birder ) many times about the project to help save the endangered  Whooping Crane  by   developing an eastern migratory flock  that flies between Wisconsin and Florida twice each year. Young birds are taught the route by training them to fly with an ultralight aircraft. The project has had some success - and some tragedies - and the flock is slowly growing. Of course, Whooping Cranes are not the only members of that long-legged family that are endangered. In fact, many cranes right around the world are seriously endangered. Our own  Sandhill Crane  is a notable exception, probably because of that bird's adaptability and willingness to utilize a variety of foods in its diet. Another critically endangered bird is the  Siberian Crane,  part of whose range extends into Russia, and it turns out that Russian conservationists also have a program based on use of the ultralight to escort ...

After last winter's deadly season for the Whooping Cranes of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, in which 23 birds died from lack of sufficient food, there was concern that this winter might be equally problematic for the birds. Fortunately, it hasn't turned out that way. The latest aerial survey counted 263 birds. That is down by only one from the highest count of the winter, 264 on January 8. The one bird that died was a juvenile. Of the 263 birds present at the refuge, 242 are adults and 21 are juveniles. This compares to the 247 birds that survived last winter at the refuge and started the flight north in the spring. The National Parks and Wildlife officials who monitor the birds say that food availability at the refuge is improving. The salinity levels of the bay have risen and more blue crabs, which are the big birds' favorite snack, are now present in the bay. This bodes well for the continued health of the flock through the remainder of the winter and for their ...