2023-05-28

Whooping Crane Day 2023

    whooping crane
The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America. They are the rarest of all cranes.

The issues associated with predation and loss of habitat have caused the bird to near extinction.

Their nesting areas and migratory paths are not adjacent to my home and so I rarely see one.

I believe the last specimen I saw was a taxidermy mounted one in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. This would have been circa 1977.

Today is Whooping Crane Day. It happens annually each May 28 in an effort to bring attention to this magnificant endangered and very rare bird.

The adult of the species are typically white with black wingtips and facial markings.

They mate for life. The chicks are born a brown color.

The male and female whooping cranes are not referred to by specific gender names like most other animals.

Theirs is an elaborate courtship ritual which usually involve dances and unison calls.

Conservation efforts for the whooping crane have been challenging to say the least. If you encounter one consider yourself fortunate and try not to molest them in their natural setting.

I for one was a hard sell on leaving nature alone. However, I am now "there" and do my best to "live and let live" and not hunt something simply because I see it.