A dramatic photograph taken by Michael Forsberg of Whooping Cranes displaying among White Pelicans during an early morning at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in coastal Texas. A Whooping Crane migration map adapted from the new book, Into Whooperland; (artwork by Bartels Illustrator Lauren Richelieu). Michael Forsberg’s new book: Into Whooperland – a photographer’s journey with Whooping Cranes.

The survival of the only self-sustaining population of migrating Whooping Cranes depends on the tallest birds in North America making a perilous 2,500-mile migration along the Central Flyway twice a year, during spring and fall. Now, photographer Michael Forsberg shows us what that migration is like after following Whooping Cranes by plane along the “Whooper Airway” to show the landscape as the migrating Whoopers see it. His insightful story is illustrated by a variety of impressive photographs of Whooping Crane flocks, families, and individuals in his recent book Into Whooperland, and in a newly published article in the Fall issue of The Living Bird.

During the spring of 2022, Forsberg followed the Whooping Crane migration northward in a small plane, often focusing on one crane family’s remarkable and poignant migration of 37 days and 2,500 miles through the heart of the continent along a series of critical wetlands and grassland habitats.

“What I wanted to do is to see the land as the cranes see it. We flew the Cessna at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,000 feet above ground and traveled roughly 200 to 300 miles a day,” Forsberg explained. “Every day we were making decisions about if we could fly, how far we were going to go, where we were going to get fuel, where we were going to sleep. We were making similar decisions as the birds.” As wildlife photographer/writer Michael Forsberg and pilot Chris Boyer began their first flight, about half the Whooping Crane population already left their wintering range along the Texas Gulf Coast, with birds spread out in a long line stretching from coastal Texas northward as far as North Dakota.

To get to Wood Buffalo National Park on the northern border of Alberta, Forsberg shared: “We traveled 18 days, 3,100 miles; we made 8 overnight stops, took 32,000 photographs – it was quite a journey.” Once, as Forsberg watched a group of 23 Whooping Cranes along a shallow river course, he thought to himself: “There are more birds in the photo frame than there were on this planet in the 1940s!”

To read more about Micheal Forsberg’s journey, you can refer to the extended article published online in the All About Birds website at Following Whooping Cranes by Plane Along the "Whooper Highway" | All About Birds

You can also learn more about Forsberg’s new book, Into Whooperland – a photographer’s journey with Whooping Cranes, at MICHAEL FORSBERG photography — Into Whooperland - a photographer's journey with whooping cranes