Tallest, rarest birds in North America sighted in Texas

[douglas9]

PORT ARANSAS, Texas – Whooping cranes, the tallest and rarest birds in North America, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife officials, have been spotted along the Texas coast.

There are currently 506 known whooping cranes and thanks to coordinated conservation efforts, including efforts by the San Antonio Zoo, these birds are slowly making a comeback from the brink of extinction.

TPWD officials said whooping cranes make a 2,500-mile journey from their breeding grounds near Alberta’s Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to the coastal marshes of Texas every year, with the migration lasting up to 50 days.

It is illegal to disturb the federally protected whooping cranes that tend to pass through large urban centers like Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco and Austin on their way to the Texas coast.

“For the most part, all of the banded birds have moved out of Canada, but some are still as far north as the Dakotas and still in migration," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Whooping Crane Coordinator Wade Harrell. "Typically, we don’t have all the birds on the Texas Coast until December, so November is often our big month for migration sightings here in Texas.”

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/11/04/tallest-rarest-birds-in-north-america-sighted-in-texas/

[Arkansas Granny]

1. I remember when I was a kid in grade school that there were only 30 or 40 of these birds.

This has definitely been a success story.

[unc70]

2. Classic Bob & Ray routine about the cranes

It was a comedy radio interview with an "expert" on the cranes who seemed to know only 3-4 facts about them. Where I learned everything I know about the whoopers.