Our tallest bird, averaging 5′ 2″ with a 7 and a half foot wing span, the Whooping Cranes is a life birds for  Ingrid and me as our birding trip to Texas continues.

A critically endangered species due to hunting and habitat loss.  By 1941 only 15 birds wintered in Texas. Serious conservation issues and penalties against shooing led to a slow revival of the species and by 1990 the Texas wintering flock approached 150.

There have been many attempts to create other flocks in Florida, Louisiana and via captive breeding with mixed success.