It’s a dilemma knowing whether to share good news first or bad news first.  I’ll start with the bad news first.  After twenty years, Jane and I have lost a dependable and cherished friend.  Yes, the 2004, four-wheel drive, Toyota 4Runner, with nearly 250,000 miles has gone.  And here is the good news, the 4Runner was traded in for a brand new 2025 Toyota, all-wheel drive, Rav4 Hybrid.  And, we just finished our first major road trip in the Rav4 to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, Texas, to photograph whooping cranes.

Whooping cranes, endemic to North America, are among the most endangered birds in the world.  Back in 1940, due to habitat loss and hunting, there were only 21 whooping cranes left in North America.  Today, as a result of conservation efforts and captive breeding, the current wild population is estimated to be around 500 birds.  The only naturally occurring, and self-sustaining, flock of Whooping Cranes breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park, in northern Alberta, Canada, and spends winters in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

You can understand that I would want a chance to photograph the endangered whooping crane.  Besides its endangered status, the whooping crane is also the largest crane species, standing more than five tall with an eight-foot wingspan.  It is a most impressive bird but also a difficult bird to find.  Most of the wintering cranes forage for food among the coastal barrier islands of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  Searching for them involves motoring along the edges of the barrier islands in a boat and hoping you will spot cranes close enough to photograph.

Whooping CranesCranes In Flight Whooping CranesCranes Eating A Snake

We spent three mornings with Captain Kevin Sims on his boat, with two other photographers, searching for whooping cranes.  There are thousands of acres of barrier islands where the 500 remaining cranes could hangout.  So, we were very fortunate to find several family units of cranes within a reasonable distance for photography.  When crane sightings became scarce, Captain Sims motored to a small rookery island with breeding great blue herons, reddish egrets, roseate spoonbills, great egrets, and Caspian terns.  Of particular interest was the ability to photograph the distinctive white morph of the reddish egret.

Great Blue HeronsHerons At Rookery White Morph - Reddish Heron

Caspian Terns White IbisIbis Foraging for Food

After regaining our “land legs” and a satisfying lunch, we headed for a blind on Kevin Sims’ property where whooping cranes are often enticed to feed on corn.  We four photographers spent hours in the blind waiting for cranes to arrive.  Fortunately, cranes did show up, but they were sandhill cranes, the same crane I have photographed often at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near home.  Eventually, though, some whooping cranes did arrive and we could see the huge difference in size between the whooping crane and sandhill crane.

Whooping Crane & Sandhill CraneSize comparison Whooping CranesTaking Off

In addition to whooping crane photography, we also visited the El Potrero Nature Photography Ranch near Kingsville, Texas, an hour’s drive inland from Rockport.  The Ranch has purpose-built photo sites with blinds to photograph regional birds.  The variety of birds showing up at the photo sites was disappointing.  Jane was able to add four new species of birds to her list, however.  Perhaps the most interesting photo site was the one dedicated to attracting raptors where we had ample opportunity to photograph the Crested Caracara.

Crested CaracaraCaracara Landing Crested Caracara

Golden Fronted Woodpecker Yellow Throated Warbler

Bumble BeeBee on Purple Thistle Roseate Skimmer

When all the photography was done, we packed up and headed for home, ending our first major road trip with the new Rav4, that now has a whopping 3,500 miles on the odometer. That means only one thing, more road trips to come.

For photos from our Whooping Cranes & More trip, check out the “Latest” gallery on the website.