Whooping cranes (56K stress test follows)

[Maestro]

I chartered a boat to take us to see the whoopers which are not easily seen from the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge proper. For photography the company I used was fantastic! He is a small operator out of Rockport; not one of the large Whooping Crane touring companies. He is much more flexible and really tried to get me in a good position for the photography. He had a shallow draft boat that allowed him to get where the larger boats could not. I have narrowed down my photos to about 20 definite keepers and 20 more that are iffy unless Photoshop can help them out. ;) By the way, the name of the company is Aransas Bay Birding Tours, located here: http://www.texasbirdingphotos.com/index.htm. I highly recommend them if you are ever in the area.

You probably already know this, but these whooping cranes are just a few of only about 400 in the world and the wintering ones in Aransas NWR are descendants of just somewhere between 14-16 whoopers that were left in the world in 1941 when active conservation efforts began. The ones in Aransas represent the only true wild flock left since the other areas where you can find them, namely the group that summers in Wisconsin and winters in Florida are from whoopers that were reintroduced into the wild.

Here are my first few shots.



Higher res image is here: http://www.capture-the-pixel.com/gallery/3895123#225857610-X3-LB



Higher res image is here: http://www.capture-the-pixel.com/gallery/3895123#225857892-X3-LB

This is how we first encountered them, far from us. :)



Little by little, they came closer.


The juvenile was the first to give us good opportunities for photographs. Kids seem not be as shy as their parents many times.

My wife shot these three with my back-up camera. I think she did a fantastic job and she is the only one that could capture a whooping crane in flight. An adult whooping crane's wingspan is seven feet!


Flying over us


Foraging in the reeds and grass


Here is my only good shot of the juvenile


Still though they kept coming closer to the shore as the day wore on.


I got a bit impatient and started to stalk some. :rofl:


But in the end, they let us take some pics close to them. :woohoo:
















Me after a long day hunting whoopers with my lens.


I had an absolute blast. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of a very rare bird.

Very disturbing article about our government and endangered animals can be found in this post of mine from GD.

[alarimer]

1. Those are awesome photos

I should do that sometime.

I have been to the refuge on numerous occasions but have never seen the whoopers up close like that.

[Maestro]

2. Thanks alarimer

Use the company I referenced above. Great guy.

Here is the boat and the operator. You can see my camera on top.


Thanks for the nice comments.

[havocmom]

3. Thanks for posting the great pics

We enjoyed them.

Havocdad gets sad here end of Oct, when the Sand Hill Cranes that summer head south. He wants to retire where they winter. When they fly overhead in fall, he waves and tells them we will meet them down there in just a few short years.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who talks to the wildlife...

I occasionally roll down my windows when driving in my neighborhood to warn critters to stay out of the street. The deer look at me oddly, but seem to listen.

[havocmom]

6. Sometimes, he talks to wildlife in German.

We both talk to all critters, verbally or mentally (the latter when we REALLY want to get the message across ;) )

[GoddessOfGuinness]

7. Once I jokingly said "Moo" to a couple of cows,

while driving along a country road, and a bull that was in the field charged over toward the car to give me hell. I guess he wasn't amused.

[havocmom]

12. LOL Try it on a steep jeep trail in a narrow (really narrow) ravine

No, actually, don't. (one more reason there is an ex-havocdad LOL)

[Maestro]

9. I would love to retire in the Texas Hill Country

where I could photograph wildlife all day long. Getting out like this really relaxes me even though I worry about how this current admin is treating the environment, flora and fauna included.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. Wonderful!

Thank you so much! :toast:

[Maestro]

10. Thanks.

I really can't tell you how much fun I had. :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. My dear Maestro!

Oh, WOW!

These are wonderful photos of those wonderful birds!

The flying pic is fantastic!

Thank you so much...

How lucky you are to have these magnificent birds close to you... :hug:

[Maestro]

15. Thanks Peggy.

It was fun. I am already planning my next trip. :)

[lost-in-nj]

11. Great pictures...

I love to see them from the road in Florida.....
I love to see all the tall birds...

thanks!!


lost

[Maestro]

17. Thanks Lost

These birds are just so magnificent in person. Wow!

[semillama]

13. Lucky you!

Aransas is on my top ten list of places I need to bird.

[Maestro]

18. It was great.

Besides the Whoopers, I got a few more lifers like the white ibis and long-billed curlew.

[TZ]

14. Those are great..

Do they have Sandhill Cranes down there too? Thats another Crane outside of the Whooping Crane I have always wanted to see?
BTW--If you ever have the chance to come to Maryland you need to go to Blackwater Wildlife Refuge...Bald Eagles galore! I think you would love it...

[Maestro]

19. I think Aransas does host some sandies, but they

hadn't arrived yet. And I certainly would love the baldies from Blackwater. There is no place in Texas where they are in adundance although they can be found. BTW, did you see my response to you in GD about the parks?

[TZ]

25. I did see your response

Thats really sad. I really love wildlife refuges, more so than parks because of my love of birding. I have a book that lists the all the refuges in the country. I have to admit I never heard about Aransas. Big Bend is the one I always heard about in Texas.....

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. thank you Maestro

your pic threads make it all worthwhile.

[Maestro]

20. You are so very welcome

and you are too kind. :hi:

[catmandu57]

21. Tom Robbins would be proud

Beautiful photos, I became aware of the whoopers when I read "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues". Back then there were only about 130, it's good to see they're making progress.

[Maestro]

22. Thanks so much.

They are making good progress and they are an example of what conservation efforts can achieve. Basically they went from nothing to something.

[BarenakedLady]

23. Wow awesome!

Those are great. What beautiful birds.

:loveya:

[Maestro]

26. Your comments are warmly welcomed.

:hug:

[Shine]

24. Dude. National Geographic is calling.

:thumbsup: Great pix.

PS. You're handsome. :hi:

[Maestro]

27. You are exaggerating on both counts, but

thank you so much. I am glad you liked them. :hug: