Whooping Cranes

Written by Keith Friday, 26 February 2010 15:27

One of the attractions of Rockport, TX, is the whooping cranes. Not many years ago, there were believed to be only 17 of these creatures left on the face of the earth. Now, there are estimated to be 217.

We saw three of them this morning.

About five miles north of us is The Big Tree, a live oak tree estimated to be over 1,000 years old. Its trunk is about ten feet in diameter.

Near the tree is a field with a man-made pond. In that field, we saw three whooping cranes. They were too far away to photograph, but we were able to see them up close and personal through binoculars. They are pure white and stand four or five feet tall!

They nest in Canada. From the time they are hatched, a man dressed in a whooping crane suit becomes their "mother" and trains them not to be afraid of a big noisy bird which is really an ultralight plane. As fall comes and winter approaches, the ultralight leads them, and they follow, along the traditional route to the winter grounds—which just happens to be here.

Another interesting thing we saw on this outing was the graphics on this vehicle. Yes, I know "our" Kenny and daughter Patty do not have an "s" on Peter, but the coincidence was just too great to pass up.