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In our pursuit of Whooping Cranes we used a two pronged approach: touring the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge by land and by sea. The land tour was first. The Refuge was about 30 miles from Goose Island State Park where we’d been camping. It was a gray, drizzly day but the drive was rather scenic, flat grassland punctuated by the occasional munching cow and oak motte (a term used in Texas for a small grove of trees). We drove in a horseshoe shape, it would have only been about ten miles as the crow flies but we had to drive from our side of the bay around to the other side of the bay.

We followed the brown Refuge signs, turn after turn, each time we turned the road became narrower and bumpier. Finally we spied the entrance sign. The Visitor Center has some informative exhibits and fantastic pictures but if you want to find out what to do and how to do it you have to wait your turn to speak with one of the volunteers behind the desk. After flashing our National Park Pass with our Golden Eagle sticker (it is a fee area) we were given a map and short lecture (really, a map with information hung on the wall would have worked for me but the folks were nice).

Since the Refuge was created in 1937 for the wildlife, vehicle access is limited to one 16 mile road. We could only travel about 5 miles of the road to the Observation Tower, since the rest is a narrow one-way loop that our RV was too wide and tall for.

There was plenty for us to do along the accessible stretch so we didn’t mind too much. There was a very slim chance of sighting any Whoopers from the Tour Loop. In fact they tell you at the Visitor Center that there is hardly any chance of seeing Whoopers at all since they usually spend most their time feeding at the far tip of Blackjack Peninsula.

We hopped out and wandered several of the trails along the road on our way to the Observation Tower but it was really quiet, few birds and few animals. We did spend some quality time with a couple Alligators and even a White-tailed Deer couple. (Did you know North America is the only place where Alligators and Crocodiles coexist? Gators live by freshwater, Crocs by salt water.)

We were startled by something shuffling around in the undergrowth, I jumped which made Lance jump and then we had to laugh, it was only a small Armadillo. Of course, by the time I had sufficiently recovered it had rooted its way deeper into the bushes, so no picture for me.

The 40’ Observation Tower is handicap accessible and commands a great view of the area. There is even a scope up there to help you look for birds, we saw lots of Roseate Spoonbills, Great Blue Herons, and Snowy Egrets. No Whoopers. We did hear an owl hoot in the woods, which was neat. Overall, it was a nice way to spend the day. We weren’t too disappointed because we had lined up a boat tour for the next day, and the tour practically guaranteed Whoopers.

At 7:30 on Sunday morning, the Skimmer left Fulton Harbor with just over 30 bird enthusiasts on board (including Lance and myself). The camera equipment on that boat was incredible, everybody had at least two cameras (including us), all the cameras on that boat were worth more than most people make in a year (including us)!

The captain had loaner binoculars available, not that we really needed them. Captain Tommy was very knowledgeable, he explained the basics of the shrimping and oystering that occurs in the bay, he identified every bird we came across and he knew exactly where to go to see Whooping Cranes. Amazingly, the best place was on the marshy land right along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. We followed an oil supertanker into the waterway…

Imagine the disaster if there was an oil spill there, those supertankers can hold up to three million barrels of oil! The Aransas population of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) is the only wild, migrating flock in the world. It was along the Texas coast in 1941 where the remaining 15 Whoopers were found. Scientists were worried about possible extinction but were flummoxed since nobody at the time knew where they went to breed.

The Whoopers are only in Texas from mid-October to March. Finally, a pilot spotted them nesting in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Since Whoopers usually can only rear one chick successfully, extra eggs were swiped from nests for hatching by scientists.

In an ongoing effort the eggs are incubated and the hatchlings are reared by researchers costumed as Whoopers. The young Whoopers are taught to feed and even to migrate by following a costumed ultralight. This experimental population nests in Wisconsin and winters in Florida. Through these and other efforts the total Whooper count is over 400, with a record 237 reported at Aransas this year.

All of my reading and research didn’t prepare me for actually seeing them. Whoopers are the tallest birds in North America, they stand almost 5’ tall. They gleam a bright white except for the jet black feathers and scarlet red skin around their beaks. Their wingtips are also black but you can only see that when they fly, which we had the incredible fortune to witness. Of course, by that time I had already filled up two memory cards and I wasn’t able to get a shot, but we’ll always have that memory.

It must be quite a show later in the winter when the Whoopers begin their courtship dances. The dances sound similar to the ones we watched the Sandhill Cranes do at Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico in November. Whoopers mate for life, which can be as long as 25 years, and the dances serve to strengthen those bonds.

The groups we watched were intent on only one thing; eating. They’ll eat almost anything, insects, berries, and acorns but their favorite food is the Blue Crab found in freshwater ponds.

We were most amused by a cohort: a small group of young, unmated Whoopers. The three members of our cohort were over two years old and they were still working on some basic skills. The “leader” caught a blue crab and we were all so excited for him but then he dropped it and couldn’t find it. He looked so confused, plunging his head deep into the water. Better luck next time.

We also watched a family group, the young stays with the parents for at least one full year. The young are distinctive because of their tan color. By the time they migrate back to Canada the young will be white like it’s parents.

Honestly, I don’t know how the parents stand the baby, it squawked incessantly. I commented to a lady on the boat that I’d probably strangle it if it was mine because it was so annoying. She laughed and agreed, then she asked Lance if we had kids. He said no and she said good. That totally cracked us up, it was just an expression, lady.

It couldn’t have been a more perfect way to spend the last day of 2006. It was sunny with very little wind. Captain Tommy had to tear us away from the Whoopers but no one left disappointed; we had an even better experience than we had hoped for. Besides, it’s nice to celebrate successes, even small ones. While the Whooping Crane population is still very vulnerable, at least it is recovering.

Photos: View our pictures from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Dates: We visited Aransas National Wildlife Refuge by RV on 12/30/06 and by boat on 12/31/06.