Unexpected Treat in the Air

Yesterday, I had to travel to Shreveport, Louisiana.  It is a long two hour
drive through farmland, bayous, and rivers.  Just north of Natchitoches,
I spotted a large bird flying toward me across a field.  I knew it was too
large to be an egret.  A heron perhaps? But the white feathers finally made my
heart stop!  It was a whooping crane...fully grown and magnificent, gliding toward the
Bayou Pierre. Wow!

That probably doesn't mean much to most people. When I was growing up, these birds were on the brink of extinction.  There were
only a few left in the wild.  There was one at the San Antonio Zoo named
Rosie, and I can remember going to see her.  We knew it might be the last
one we ever saw.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of visiting down at White Lake,
where Louisiana is trying to re-introduce the breed into the
area.  It is a complex program, involving importing the chicks
from up East where there is an active breeding program, and caring
for them in the marsh until they are old enough to be released.  The workers
dress like whooping cranes to go into their enclosure, so that they do
not become familiar with humans.  They are kept in a netted area until
they can fly, and they continue to monitor them.  They have had mixed results.
Many have been killed by animals, cars, and a few have even been
shot!  Ahhh!   But they are making a slow comeback.  And yesterday proved
that!  I am sure this bird I saw was one of theirs, and that he was
banded and tracked.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to see them often
and it be an everyday experience!
Good luck beautiful birds!

sheltongail@hotmail.com

These are photos I took down at White Lake.

A Day with the Endangered

We started the day in Kaplan, LA at the
Sunnyside Motel...it was not sunny

White Lake in south LA;
home to the whooping crane project

Me, Mr. Bob, his son, Mark, and Lee all went to
see the cranes

With Sara, the crane coordinator of the project

We arrived at the site, and these young cranes soon
appeared...breathtaking

As the landed, you can see their leg bands that
identify them.  These young birds still have some
of their brown feathers.  When they mature, they will be
all white

This is an adult male from the program last year.  He
still stays around the compound

These are the blinds that we observed the birds from...
very nice.  We had to be quiet and fairly still so we
would not disturb them

Sara donned her "crane habit" and entered to restock their
food.  They eat a pellet with all the nutrients, etc that they
need.  They are making every attempt to keep the birds as
wild as they can.

This is the adult male again, preening.  They develop
the red marking on their head when they mature.  He
was about 4-5 feet tall.

This was our transportation coming and going, very
nice ride

Mr. Bob had always wanted to see the whooping cranes in
person, and planned to go to Aransas Pass, Texas.  When
he learned that this new program was here in the state,
he was able to arrange for us all to go.  They are not necessarily
letting many people in there, but were considerate enough
to allow us today. 
These cranes come from Maryland, where they are hatched, and
then transported here to White Lake.  They are acclamated inside
the marsh enclosure gradually, and begin to venture out as they
mature.  This is the second year of the experiment.  The goal is
to establish a non-migrating flock.  There are only about 300
living whooping cranes in the world.  When I was growing up
in Texas, there were only 15!  They have made some great strides
in trying to help this species recover.  It was thrilling to get
to see them, and encouraging to know that passionate people
are there trying to help them.

sheltongail@hotmail.com