Hear a story about the whooping crane
Hear a whooping crane

from The Birds of Texas
by John L. Tveten

The story of the whooping crane has been called "a love affair of two nations with a great white bird." One of the most famous birds in the world, the whooper once ranged across the continent. Widespread, but probably never abundant, the species gave way to the advancing human settlers of the land. Many were shot for food or trophies; others vanished as their marshlands were drained and cleared. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the executive order creating the new federal Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge on December 31, 1937, only two small flocks of whooping cranes remained. One flock migrated south from Canada to winter at Aransas (now the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge). The other remained year - round in Louisiana.

from Endangered and Threatened Animals of Texas by Linda Campbell

The stately whooping crane is the tallest bird found in North America, with males approaching nearly five feet in height. Adult birds are white overall with some red and black on the head. Their inner wing feathers droop over the rump in a "bustle" that distinguishes cranes from herons. They have a seven foot wingspan and their dark olive-gray beaks are long and pointed. The area at the base of the beak is pink and the eyes are yellow. The whooping crane's call, from which it derives its name, has been described as a shrill, bugle-like trumpeting. . . ker-loo ker-lee-loo.

The historical range of the whooping crane extended from the Arctic coast south to central Mexico, and from Utah east to New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It has been estimated that between 500 and 1400 whooping cranes inhabited North America in 1870. (In 1941, populations reached an all time low of 15 birds.)

Whooping cranes begin leaving the Texas coast in late March and early April, returning by late April to their nesting area in Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories, Canada. Fall migration back to the Texas coast begins in mid September.

from The Birds of Texas

Migrating as family groups, they set up territories of nearly a square mile in the coastal marsh and stalk through the shallows to feed on blue crabs, clams and occasional small fish. Acorns, berries, roots and grains supplement the varied diet. The long-legged cranes roost standing in shallow water, where it is difficult for predators to approach.

The future is much brighter than it was a half century ago, but the fate of the whooping crane is by no means assured. Loss of habitat to coastal erosion, dredging, poisonous contaminants in the soil and water, and possible oil or chemical spills in the Intracoastal Canal all threaten the only wild flock of the great white birds.

Today the whooping crane is a federal and state listed endangered species. To learn more about their status and the history of the Refuge, listen below to interviews with Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Austwell, Texas. Excerpts from The Birds of Texas by John L. Tveten with permission from Shearer Publishing, Inc., and from Endangered and Threatened Animals of Texas by Linda Campbell from Texas Parks and Wildlife Press.

More Bird Facts 182 whoopers overwintered on the Texas coast this year. Whoopers migrate 2,400 miles between northern Canada and the Texas coast each year. Whooping cranes often migrate with sandhill cranes. Whoopers can live up to 22 to 24 years in the wild. Whooping cranes usually mate for life. Females lay two eggs, but only one chick normally survives.

Hear Interviews with Experts History of Whooping Cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Description of Birds and their Status in 1997 Efforts to Establish New Colonies of Whoopers Aircraft Teach Whoopers to Migrate Whooping Crane Tours at Matagorda Island (dates change yearly)