Whooping Cranes

Here are some more pics of the two whooping cranes that I photographed flying over Necedah, NWR last October. The whooping crane, or whooper as it is frequently called, is found only in North America. It is the tallest bird in North America standing at almost 5 feet tall with a wingspan of over seven feet.

They got their name from the whooping call that the cranes make during the courtship process. Whoopers are ground nesters. They typically nest in marshy areas in around 10 inches of water to help prevent attacks from ground predators like fox and coyote. The nest is usually hidden in stands of bulrush or cattail. When they are born the young whoopers are flightless but can swim away from danger if necessary.
Due to habitat loss and hunting the whooping crane was brought to the brink of extinction. In 1941 there were only 15 wild whoopers left in North America. The whooper was put on the endangered species list and there are now several organizations that are working with the government to help increase the population of these birds.
Currently the wild whooper population stands at around 325. The bulk of the birds are the ancestors of the last flock of 15. They nest up in Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada, and winter in Aransas NWR in southeast Texas. To try and prevent the complete loss of the whooper population, if something catastrophic where to happen to the remaining wild flock, a second flock was created using captive born birds. These birds are raised in Wisconsin, mostly Necedah, and using ultra light aircraft the bird are lead down to south Florida during migration. After their first migration the birds find their own way back north so that they can migrate on their own after that. This eastern migratory flock currently has around 80 birds. Both flocks have been growing around an average of about 4% each year.