Ever since seeing the lone Whooping Crane in Osceola County back in December, I’ve wanted to go back and check on how he’s doing.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this endangered crane – one of only about 400-600 that still exist in the wild – is all alone and living in area where a subdivision is rapidly gobbling up its habitat. This banded bird was most likely part of a failed initiative to try to introduce a Whooping Crane population in Florida. Most of those birds died, unfortunately.
At this spot in Osceola, it had been hanging out with some Sandhill Cranes, which, like Whooping Cranes, mate for life. Friend Tim Barker got a photograph of the Whooping Crane getting a little carried away and trying to mate with one of the Sandhill Cranes. Uh, awkward!
When I visited the Whooping Crane on Martin Luther King Day, I noticed the Sandhill Cranes were keeping their distance now – which just made him seem even more lonely.
He was across a little canal when I started photographing him. To my surprise he took flight and landed about 10 feet from me. Not sure if he was looking for a handout or just wanted some company.
I got some really nice, close photos of the Whooping Crane as he hung around for about 5 minutes. He even responded to a call from the distant Sandhill Cranes – which was amazing to see and hear in person. But then he decided it was time to fly away, and off he went on another lonely journey.
