ALL ABOUT WHOOPING CRANES
Rockport, Texas is located 45 minutes south
of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
The Refuge is the best place to see the
"Whoopers" up-close, by guided boat in Matagorda Bay or my land within the
Whoopers Enjoy Winter Refuge on the
Gulf Coast of Texas
Used with permission and as published in the Dallas Morning
by Kathryn Straach, Special
The airborne whooping crane group consists of 150+
whooping cranes, one of the rarest animal species in North America. From late
October through mid-April, the world's only wild natural flock of whopping
cranes has a winter reservation at the
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
45 minutes north of Rockport in Austwell, TX. The small flock of the U.S. continent's tallest bird
journeys 2,500 miles south from
Wood Buffalo National Park
in Canada to the protected habitat of this Texas refuge. In short, these
whoopers breed in Canada and reside there in spring and summer, then migrate
south in the late fall and winter months. Although the ANWR is the official winter home for the big birds, it
is not necessarily the best
place to see them. The cranes spread out about 35 miles along the coast,
with the majority feeding and residing just off U.S. Highway 35N.
One of the best ways to see
Cranes is to take a boat tour from Rockport or Fulton,
a bus tour at the refuge, or from the tall viewing platform the ANWR built for
viewing our Whooping Cranes overseeing Matagorda Bay. Another popular location that provides great
viewing is Matagorda Island, managed by ANWR. The 45 minute boat trip departs
from Port O'Connor. Please see the
page for more detailed trip information. If you're a professional or amateur
photography, you'll want to check out our
Bird & Nature
page. Most tours are operated from November
15 - March 31 annually. Upon occasion, the Whooping Cranes are also
visible from the Goose island State Park pier, 10 miles north of
The South Texas Gulf Coast climate
and food sources create the perfect winter habitat and they relish their blue
crabs - in abundance all around the shorelines at ANWR.
It wasn't that long ago that the population
of Whoopers was at an all-time low of 188, largely due to a 10-year cycle. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is
hopeful that the numbers will turn around and there is already evidence to that
affect. Conditions at the refuge are welcoming to the Whoopers, but
there are a lot of other factors that threaten the birds. It is getting tougher for
the birds all the time and power lines are the biggest threat to them, period.
They fly into them and suffer fatal injuries.
Developments, including the coast's Intracoastal canal and nearby oil and gas projects challenge the birds' future
as well. There is disease, such as West Nile Virus which causes brain
inflammation - and not only affects the birds, but humans and horses too. Whoopers are excellent for beginning
birders to view. Although relatively few in number, they are easy to identify. The
white birds with black wingtips stand about 5 feet tall and their crown is
bright red. In addition to their size, the birds have a loud, resonating
call that carries for miles and is responsible for their name.
See our favorite resources and info links
below to find out all you need to know about the Whooping Cranes:
Identification, Songs, Habitats,
Breeding, Migration, The Endangered Species Act, and much more.
The Magnificent Whooping
support your local organizations and help this magnificent
creature continue to exist in spite of our ever
The Central &
Mississippi Fly Ways are
used by the majority of
birds that visit
Rockport each year.
Bird migration is generally thought of as
a north-and-south movement, with the lanes of heavier concentration
following the coasts, mountain ranges and principal river valleys. In
general, it may be said that the great routes of migration do conform
very closely to major topographical features when these happen to lie
in the general direction of the travel to be performed.
The terms "migration route" and "flyway"
are to some extent theoretical concepts, while the latter has, in
addition, come to have an administrative meaning. Migration routes may
be defined as the lanes of individual travel from any particular
breeding ground to the winter quarters of the birds that use them.
Flyways, on the other hand, may well be conceived as those broader
areas in which related migration routes are associated or blended in a
definite geographic region. They are wide arterial highways to which
the routes are tributaries.
Click here to find out more
about Migration Routes!
Make Plans to see Whooping Crane at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.