Whoopers and More

I was vaguely aware that Texas had lots of birding.  Texas is reputed to be, at least in the winter, home to more bird species than any other state in the union.  The coastal region in particular is the destination for the central and Mississippi flyways from the midwest and Canada.  It was a surprise to learn that our selection of Rockport/Fulton for the next stay bordered the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, the winter home of the only wild flock of Whooping Cranes.

Whooping Crane in flight

The "Whoopers" once dwindled to 21 birds from an estimated 10,000 when Europeans arrived in North America.  This flock winters in Canada's Northwest Territory.  They stand 5' tall with a 7.5' wingspan.  Their numbers diminished due to hunting and loss of habitat but have recovered a bit to over 400.  They eat a variety of things but their mainstay is the blue crab, the availability of which is influenced by rain and the status of the rivers feeding the bays and estuaries.  Having worked hard to eat one and found only a bit of meat, I would leave them all to the cranes and stick to my dungeness and king crab.

A fascinating effort to establish another flock, migrating from Wisconsin to Florida was undertaken.  The initial thought was to substitute Sandhill Cranes as parents when the Whooper eggs hatched.  That failed when the Whoopers refused to mate, having imprinted on the Sandhills.  The next effort was more effective.  Humans dressed up in Whooper suits, never spoke, played Whooper calls and imprinted the chicks on Ultralite airplanes.  When time to migrate came, the birds followed the plane, learning the route to Wisconsin.  Amazing what critter lovers will do to prevent extinction.

Ultralite Leading the Migration

 In addition to Whoopers our birding boat trip revealed dozens of other species, waterfowl, shorebirds, the fastest critter in the world, the peregrine falcon at 200 MPH, white and brown pelicans and the beautiful roseate spoonbill.

Roseate Spoonbill

The boat captain was said to have sold his 300 employee tech firm, left his wife behind, bought a boat settled into a life of guiding wildlife tours.  He seemed pretty happy.  When I asked if a raised wooden structure, decorated with reeds etc. was a blind,  he retorted that the environmentalists dream things up and the hunters pay for it.  Maybe a good compromise.


The 3 hour boat trip in the various bays and around the Wildlife Refuge also provided a closeup of the barge traffic which plies the inter-coastal waterway.  That waterway runs from Brownsville, TX to New York.  Tempting to buy a boat and cruise it.