Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Whooping cranes are coming back to Texas.

Whooping cranes generally start arriving in Texas around mid-October or so; and by mid-November, most of them have reached the Texas coast. In the area in and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, just north of Rockport.

Lee Ann Linam is a biologist with Parks and Wildlife.

In the 1940s, the Texas population of whooping cranes was about fifteen or sixteen birds. Last winter we had two hundred and thirty six in the population that came down to Texas. So it’s been a slow but sure success story for whooping cranes.

Linam says they hope to see that number jump to two hundred fifty this season. Texans between Dallas-Fort Worth and the edge of the Panhandle through Central Texas are asked to keep an eye to the sky beginning mid-October for whoopers in migration.

Because we’re very interested in learning what habitat areas they use in migration, and understand more about those, and the rate of their migration.

But don’t look for a huge flock.

Usually it’s family groups – two or three, or maybe groups of sub-adults that might number about five or six – but just small groups of very large white birds.

Find links to more whooper information at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…with support from the Wildlife restoration Program… providing funding for the Private Lands and Habitat Enhancement Program.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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