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    • Claudia Fonkert, Macalester College

    May 8, 1997

    Each spring the entire flock of wild whooping cranes takes the annual 2,500 mile journey from their wintering grounds on the Texas Gulf Coast to their nesting grounds in northern Canada. These wild cranes were on the brink of extinction in the 1940's, and only 159 are alive today.

    The spring migration is now underway. Here are sightings recently reported from points along their migratory path:

    Whooping Crane Sightings
    Reported May 2-May 8, 1997

    Date State/Province Location # Cranes
    5/6/97 TEXAS Wintering Grounds, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge 0 Cranes
    5/1-2/97 KANSAS Stafford County, KS.Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. 2 adults.
    5/2/97 KANSAS Barton County, KS.Cheyenne Bottoms State Wildlife Area. 2 adults.
    4/19-5/7/97 NORTH DAKOTA Stutsman County, ND.
    1 mi. west of Pingree.    		 1 juvenile.