Whooping Cranes

Only two weeks after the announcement of a tragic Whooping Crane shooting in Louisiana this fall, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) have announced the recent death of a Whooping Crane in Texas, also likely due to a shooting.

St Marks, Florida: Early the morning of Dec. 11, seven young whooping cranes following two ultralight aircraft during a two-month migration landed at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge where they will spend the winter.

Seven whooping cranes following pilots in two ultralight aircraft lifted off from Pike County, Alabama Dec. 9 and flew 117 miles before landing in Decatur County, Georgia.

Wildlife biologists have confirmed the presence of five federally protected whooping cranes in Hopkins County and sixth in Barren County. In addition to these confirmed reports, whooping cranes have been seen in more than a dozen counties across Kentucky in the last two weeks.

Wade Harrell, U.S. Whooping Crane Recovery Coordinator with the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, reports that most of the 25 marked whooping cranes being tracked via GPS leg bands arrived on the S. Texas wintering grounds by Nov. 14.

Wade Harrell, U.S. Whooping Crane Recovery Coordinator at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge reports this week that while there were a few earlier than expected whooping crane arrivals in September, it now seems that fall migration is shaping up to be a bit delayed this year.

A new, innovative research study is underway that will help wildlife biologists discover important information about one of the most interesting birds in the world, whooping cranes.

The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership and staff at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin are celebrating the first wild whooping crane chick of the 2014 season.