Aransas County, Texas

My quest for the Whooping Cranes continues....

 

In late Feb. 2010, I had the opportunity to visit the winter grounds of the largest flock of migrating Whooping Cranes remaining in the wild:  the Aransas Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, Texas.  While the park is accessible by road, I had read that you have better luck viewing the cranes from a boat, so I booked a couple of boat trips in addition to planning to do some driving around.  I was lucky enough to view a good number of cranes - both from the boats as well as from a road on the Lamar peninsula.   Given that the total flock was recently estimated at 256 birds (Feb 16, 2010 flight census), I was very happy with the opportunities that presented themselves in my limited time in the Aransas area (2 days). 

 

While there were a number of cranes "off in the distance" (i.e. not worth photographing), we were able to find a handful of subjects about 100-150 feet away.  I was shooting 1.3 and 1.6 crop factor camera bodies, and after further cropping to get the final images (below) , the equivalent focal length was 1100-2600mm (in other words, to fill the frame on a 'full frame' camera, I would have needed a lens from 1100-2600mm in focal length)... thank goodness for today's high resolution cameras and crop factors!

 

Below are some of my images of this critically endangered species (a Jan. 2010 census estimated fewer than 400 wild Whoopers in all of N. America - plus about 180 in captivity).

 

(Clicking on an image below will bring up a larger version of it.)

Whooping Crane; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane with crab; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Skimmer boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane with crab; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Skimmer boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane calling; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Pair of Whooping Cranes; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Whooping Crane pair; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

2 pairs of Whooping Cranes; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

4 feeding Whooping Cranes; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Whooping Crane in flight; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Crane in flight; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Kevin Sims boat tour (AM)

Whooping Cranes in flight; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

 
 

 

 

Other photographic subjects - While the Whoopers were my main reason for visiting, this coastal area offered many other things to see.

Great Blue Heron; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Skimmer boat tour (AM)

White Ibis; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Double-crested Cormorant; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Skimmer boat tour (AM)

Double-crested Cormorant with fish; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Skimmer boat tour (AM)

Great-tailed Grackle; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

"The Gulls" :-) (actually, this gentleman was feeding the gulls).

Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Brown Pelican; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Brown Pelican; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Great Blue Heron; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

White Pelican; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

 

Brown Pelican; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Brown Pelican; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Almost Full Moon; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Snowy Egret; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Redhead Ducks; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

White Pelican; Along Lamar Beach Road, Lamar, TX

Brown Pelican; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Little Blue Heron; Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road

Fulton, TX along Fulton Beach Road


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