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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Whooping Cranes. (1 Viewer)

maryvalk

Well-known member
My husband and I were driving fifty miles from Rockport, Texas to Aransas Widlife Refuge looking for whooping cranes. We had made the trip from Houston two years ago and had not had any luck, so we decided to give ourselves some extra time this year. We drove to Rockport and spent the night, then headed out the next morning to the refuge. This would give us a full day to look for the birds.

On our way to the refuge, I saw a sign for a state park and decided to drive around because you never know. The area ended up being a mixture of park areas and farms/rural homes. I had no sooner finished putting the large lens on my camera when I saw it--a white bird standing alone in a field. From the car, it was impossible to identify its markings, but there was no other bird that was that tall. I started clicking.

A few minutes later, a park ranger drove by and confirmed the bird's ID, saying a small group of them had been showing up the last couple of days. Not long after he said this, two more birds flew in and joined the loner. I was able to get pictures of them feeding and flying. Unfortunately, even with a good lens, they were far enough way that I had to crop the photos a good bit, so the photos aren't as clear and sharp, as I would like them. Still, it was so exciting to see the birds in this environment, just casually flying in and feeding at a Texas farm. We drove to the refuge, but we didn't see any there. If we hadn't taken that extra time, we could have spent another year disappointed.
 
Vey nice find, Mary. I am hoping to see them sometime next year or it might be the year after since I need to travel to Texas to do so. I am lucky that we have Sandhill Cranes overwinter within 30 minutes of my home. It is a great site when I visit them each winter.
 
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