Whooping Crane – Aransas NWR, TX

Few sights in North American birding feel as meaningful as watching a Whooping Crane at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This is especially true of one striding through the shallows with a hard-won blue crab dangling from its bill. We took a boat tour with Rockport Birding and Kayak Adventures staring Captain Tommy. The real stars were the 11+ Whooping Cranes feeding among the islands of the refuge. It’s impossible to witness that moment without thinking about how close this species came to disappearing. They were hunted and pushed to the brink until only 22 individuals remained in the wild in the 1940’s. Today, thanks to conservation centered around the Aransas–Wood Buffalo population, that number has rebounded to an estimated 500+ wild birds. This makes every crab captured and every winter spent on the Texas coast feel like a small but powerful victory.