Unlikely Visitor

Lucky, lucky me, today I saw my first Whooping Crane! Two of them made a stop in the Mid Michigan area on their migration back home, presumably to Wisconsin. They may have been blown off course by the nasty weather we had last weekend. This majestic bird is a sight to behold. It is our largest crane standing almost 5 feet tall with a wingspan of 7.5 feet.

The Whooping Crane is an endangered species. ​It is one of the rarest birds in North America. Before the Europeans settled on this continent there were 10,000+ Whooping Cranes. By 1941 there were only 21 wild and 2 captive Whooping Cranes alive as a result of unregulated hunting and loss of habitat. Conservation efforts have led to a limited recovery. As of 2011, there are an estimated 437 birds in the wild and more than 165 in captivity.

Learn more about the effort to save the Whooping Crane at Operation Migration.

Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane