Whatbird.com

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow

That has to be only type of flock where a white pelican would be the small bird. 

---

Last Life Birds-
Lincoln's Sparrow

American Avocet, Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red Knot

www.birdersflightlog.blogspot.com

It's difficult to see since I can't enlarge the photo, but that's what it looks like to me as well

---

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
Immanuel Kant

Corbett:

That has to be only type of flock where a white pelican would be the small bird. 

You got that right! It is kind of funny seeing the American White Pelican next to the Whooping Cranes. 

---

http://www.flickr.com/photos/featherbrain1223/

That's very cool. I see White Pelicans fairly frequently, but I'd probably have a heart attack if a Whooping Crane showed up around here (MD).

I enlarged and cropped one of the pictures. 

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow

you lucky guy! did you report your sighting yet?

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Whoopingcrane/sightings/sightingform.cfm or 

http://www.whoopingcrane.com/wccareport.htm

there are about 190 in that whole flock , and you saw about 8% at one sighting!   imagine if you saw 8% of the states robins at one time!

 

---

http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

Birdseye,

I'm pretty sure they have been reported. They are at one of their annual stopover spots that has a whole big tracking system in place. 

It's even more amazing than that - there were 5 more birds spotted in a marsh about 3 miles north* of these, AND twelve more at Quivira NWR about ten miles to the south.

 * I went up there but they were mixed in with thousand and thousands of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese about a mile off the road and I couldn't find them.

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow

We get sandhill cranes by the hundreds at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge about an hour from here in North Alabama, and I had always figured that whooping cranes looked more or less like a white version of them.  Last Christmas Bird Count, though, we ran into three whooping cranes among a flock of sandhills, and they were spellbinding to look at.  Enormous--decidedly larger than the sandhills--with a massive wingspan, and so beautiful.  They took my breath away when they flew off.

PoorMatty:

We get sandhill cranes by the hundreds at Wheeler Wildlife Refuge about an hour from here in North Alabama, and I had always figured that whooping cranes looked more or less like a white version of them.  Last Christmas Bird Count, though, we ran into three whooping cranes among a flock of sandhills, and they were spellbinding to look at.  Enormous--decidedly larger than the sandhills--with a massive wingspan, and so beautiful.  They took my breath away when they flew off.

I think some of the captive born birds have been released with Sandhill Cranes. I know they are trying to establish separate flocks. Spellbinding is a great term. I felt very fortunate today. 

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow

slc1856:

I think some of the captive born birds have been released with Sandhill Cranes. I know they are trying to establish separate flocks. Spellbinding is a great term. I felt very fortunate today. 

 

Yeah, that's my understanding of what these birds were.  They're such magnificent birds, and I hope that all the efforts being made pay off and whooping cranes are able to remain for many future generations to enjoy.

here is a photo i got in 2008 in nebraska. when i called to report it, the head of crane tracking drove 45 miles to verify the sighting. they migrate in family groups, and she could tell me which  family these were, where they were the day before. and when the jvy was born...

---

http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

birdseye:

here is a photo i got in 2008 in nebraska. 

Birdseye,

Were you just driving along and happened onto three Whoopers?

I knew that they would be coming through Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira NWR but I was having a hard time trying to figure out when. Fortunately I belong to a state listserve and their arrival was posted yesterday.

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow

we were in Kearney Neb for the annual spring migration of sandhill cranes... 100,000 of them in a very small area.. we just drove south of the staging area about 10 miles, and on a dirt road, my wife spotted what she thought were gigantic plastic bags caught on a barbwire fence, blowing around....about 50 yards off into the field...it was a thrill of a lifetime.

---

http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

birdseye:

we were in Kearney Neb for the annual spring migration of sandhill cranes... 100,000 of them in a very small area.. we just drove south of the staging area about 10 miles, and on a dirt road, my wife spotted what she thought were gigantic plastic bags caught on a barbwire fence, blowing around....about 50 yards off into the field...it was a thrill of a lifetime.

Wow, that must have been quite an experience. Mine wasn't nearly as exciting. I knew they were at Cheyenne Bottoms yesterday and I figured I would drive up this morning. I didn't really expect to find them, but . . .

I'd never been there before and didn't really know my way around. I drove into the marsh area and after a couple of miles I see some very large white birds. I thought to myself, well there's no way it's that easy. Suddenly that white pelican landed in the group of birds. I recognized the pelican as it flew in and figured they were all pelicans. Fortunately, I took a closer look.

---

- Steve

Latest lifers: Whooping Crane, Prairie Falcon, Fox Sparrow