Whooping Cranes
Grus americana
Photo: Tom Hausler
Art Crowe
Does North America’s tallest bird walk any taller knowing that it was one of the first 74 species listed on the 1967 Endangered Species Preservation Act? Congress amended this act in 1973 with the current Endangered Species Act, but that did not affect the listing of the Whooping Crane.
Photo: Tom Hausler
Conservation
In 1973, there were 56 whoopers. That was up from a low in 1941 of just 21 wild and two captive birds. Those two captive birds, by the way, lived at the San Antonio Zoo.
Conservation efforts have been something of a Texas two-step since then. Ideas such as taking eggs from Whooping Crane nests and introducing them into Sandhill Crane nests proved successful. But when the young adults wanted to mate only with Sandhill Cranes, the project was abandoned, and those cranes eventually died off.
Hope for ultimately delisting the Whooping Crane lies in having three separate populations of about one thousand birds each.
The population that winters in Texas is now over 500 birds, centered around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It has spread outside the refuge in recent years to include the Lamar Peninsula, San Jose Island, Mesquite Bay, and Welder Flats in San Antonio Bay. The population is stable, including about 100 non-migratory birds, mostly in Louisiana’s White Lake Conservation Area.
Photo: Tom Hausler
Small groups of birds have expanded the Texas range to include Central and Northeast Louisiana and East Texas. Conservationists have had some success building another migratory flock outside of Texas by leading the cranes with ultralight aircraft to a breeding ground in Wisconsin. The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership has overseen Operation Migration and other aspects of the eastern population’s growth. The population fluctuates around 100 but appears stable.
Conservation efforts began in earnest in 1954 after locating the summer breeding population in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. Observations that most pairs of cranes laid two eggs but usually just reared one to juvenile proved key. The withdrawal of the orphaned egg did not affect the number of juveniles; it was transported to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, which had already demonstrated success in hatching and rearing Sandhill Cranes.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1976, when George Archibald pioneered the technique of handlers’ using crane costumes to reduce human contact. What developed was a technique that would be used at Patuxent, the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and at the Calgary Zoo. This program continued with great success until 2017, when the Trump administration’s budget cuts ended the 51-year program. The flock of 75 birds was moved to several zoos, the International Crane Foundation, and the Audubon Species Survival Center in Louisiana. The current population is over 800, consisting of migratory and non-migratory birds, plus birds in captivity.
Life History
Photo: Tom Hausler
Cranes are social and communicative birds, whose behavior falls into two categories: vocal and visual. Male and female cranes of all 15 different species worldwide are impossible to sex. However, during the unison call display, it is easy to differentiate the sexes. The male crane typically elevates his wings and gives one long call for the two higher pitched calls of the female. George Archibald first observed this critical fact in the early 1970s while at Cornell University.
Whooping Cranes nest on the ground in raised areas of marsh, usually in late April to mid-May. There are two separate breeding grounds. The Wood Buffalo National Park—spanning Northeast Alberta and Southern Northwest Territories—is Canada’s biggest national park, larger than Switzerland. The other site is in the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. The cranes leave the breeding sites in September to October, flying only during the day and stopping to rest at a variety of wildlife refuges along the way. The Salt Plains National Wildlife refuge in Oklahoma is a major migratory stop for over 75 percent of the western population.
Whoopers arrive along the Texas coast in November and December. Mostly, they stay in family groups to migrate and while feeding in shallow marsh areas. They will protect feeding areas from other family groups. Most of the time, you will see three birds per family, although occasionally they have been observed in larger groups. This year saw five sets of twins on the ANWR—an unusually high number. Nineteen birds were observed in a pond on the Lamar Peninsula near The Big Oak in the winter of 2023. Tragically, one died after taking off and hitting a power line.
Photo: William T. Smith/Shutterstock.com
Whooping Cranes are omnivores. They time their arrival on the Texas coast to coincide with the fruiting of the Carolina wolfberry (Lycium carolianum). They also consume blue crabs, snakes, and grain. Whoopers will even come to feed under a deer feeder.
Photo: Tom Hausler
Causes of mortality and morbidity are varied. Coccidian parasites weaken young birds. Black flies can be so thick on the northern breeding grounds that they affect the birds’ breathing, especially among juveniles.
Top predators include bobcats, which have brought down captive birds released in Florida. Bears, coyotes, and alligators are only occasional predators. Powerlines are a common cause of mortality among migrating cranes.
Hurricanes are a yearly threat to the non-migratory populations. A tornado in 2007 killed 17 birds in Florida. As populations increase and spread outside of refuges, mortality by hunters has increased. Climate change is a concern. If the wolfberry fruits before the cranes arrive, they will be short one key food source. If they can survive that gauntlet of dangers for the first year, they may live to be as old as 22 to 24 years.
Ecotourism—Cranes Giving Back
The Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival is a big deal. Begun in 1996, it draws hundreds of people from all over the world. I attended in 2023. George Archibald was the keynote speaker. Birding tours of the King Ranch were available, as were boat excursions to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Of course, no trip to Port A is complete without stopping by one of the birding hotspots on the coast: the Leonna Belle Turnbull birding center is next to the Port Aransas wastewater treatment plant. You will see every shorebird, duck, seagull, and tern there is to see from two separate walkways with covered pavilions for observation. No Whooping Cranes yet, however.
So, to answer my original question. I doubt the cranes consider themselves any different from their ancestors of 10,000 years ago. We, however, tend to value things that are rare. I leave you with this question: Would you pay $150 to go on a boat tour to see Whooping Cranes if they were as common as bald eagles or, say, Sandhill Cranes?
Four Photos Below: Art Crowe
Suggested reading:
Images of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. March 2022. The Hays Humm.
My Life with Cranes. A collection of stories. 2016. George W. Archibald. Published by The International Crane Foundation. p. 157.
The Magic of Cranes. 2007. Carl-Albrect von Treuensfels. Published by Harry N. Abrams.
The Birds of Heaven. 2001. Peter Mathiessen and Robert Bateman. 2001. Published by North Point Press.
Ecotourism:
The 2024 Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas is February 22-25. For more news and events in Port A see www.portaransas.org.
Whooping Crane Guest House, Northwest Territory—to see the Whoopers on their nesting grounds.