in search of Whooping Cranes

Last weekend I was lucky to get a spot on one of Stan Tekiela's tours. Stan is a prolific author on all things nature and an excellent professional photographer. You can read more about his various ventures on his Nature Smart website and find his books in all book stores. This was an overnight tour to Wisconsin concentrating on Whooping Crane preservation and reintroduction into the wild.

Our group of eleven, including Stan, left Eden Prairie, MN before 5:30 a.m. (Stan believes in little sleep & lots of birding.) The above shot was somewhere in Wisconsin from our van traveling at ??? mph towards the sunrise & cranes. We were due for a tour at the International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, WI at 10 a.m. and arrived 30 min. early. The Foundation is the home for specimens of each of the 15 crane species in the world, including two from North America -- the Sandhill and Whooping Crane. However, it is not a zoo, but rather a research center dedicated to the preservation of all cranes. Below are photos of some of them; for identification, click on this link. Although I was not able to get shots of each species, below are some examples. I will continue posting others the next day or so.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

more to follow