Bringing Back the Cranes
These are important and still-rocky times for endangered Whooping Cranes. The fragile population is slowly climbing from an all-time low of just 15 wild migratory cranes alive in 1941. The long-term recovery goal for Whooping cranes is to establish a self-sustaining population of a minimum of 1,000 Whooping cranes in ALL of North America by the year 2035. How are the two migratory flocks doing so far?

Western Flock: The Last Natural, Wild Migratory Flock
Those original 15 survivors were part of the Western migratory flock. These cranes migrate between their wintering grounds in Texas to their breeding grounds in Canada's far north. A drought in Texas is just one of many serious threats facing this flock. The natural flock's population passed the 200 mark in 2004 and the 250 mark in 2007, but now has dropped. We are hoping this will be a better winter for them.

Eastern Flock: The New, Reintroduced Migratory Flock
The Eastern migratory flock began in 2001 from 11 chicks bred in captivity. With no wild parents to teach the way, new captive-bred chicks added each fall learn their migration route by following ultralight aircraft on their first journey south. In autumn, a few additional costumed-raised chicks are also released to follow older cranes south. Each spring we eagerly wait to see if, when, and how the youngest crane-kids return north — unaided, wild and free. The goal is 25 breeding pairs from 125 birds in the Eastern Migratory Flyway by 2020, This is a slow process, and the oldest birds have not been very successful at nesting and raising their own chicks to grow the flock. Will this spring bring a better nesting season? Everyone hopes so.

Tracking Two Flocks
Each spring, we track the migrations of both migratory flocks. Our dual migration coverage examines these questions: