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Birds > Stephen  > Animals > Rails, Grebes, Cranes and Coots
These are some images of whooping cranes photographed on the Intracoastal Highway on the outer banks of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The whooping cranes' images were captured from the deck of the "Jack Flash," a boat I chartered through Aransas Bay Birding Charters. It was a great experience as Kevin Sims, the owner/operator, was able to get me very close, relatively speaking, to the whooping cranes. The handsome whooping cranes spend their winters at Aransas NWR after flying some 2,500 miles from northern Canada. You will also find the close cousin of the whooping crane, the much more numerous Sandhill Cranes that also spend their winters throughout south Texas. Other birds in this family are the rails, grebes and coots.
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Stephen > "Dad, are you finding anything under there?"  This pair, a male adult whooping crane, I think, and a juvenile, was looking for lunch around midday in a small cove near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  I was crouching in the water and mud just inside this cove.  Matagorda Island was the largest island to my back.  Near Rockport, Texas, January 2009
Stephen > Crouching, stumbling, getting stuck in mud up to my calf, crawling on my hands and knees, water in my shoes, but I finally arrived to a part of this cove where I could photograph this handsome juvenile and adult whooping crane.  A second adult is just out of the frame to the left.  Just past the tall grasses in the background in the Texas Intracoastal Highway and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.  Near Rockport, Texas, January 2009
Stephen > This was image is another where I was laying on my stomach on berm looking into a small cove on the Texas Intracoastal Highway.  The Aransas NWR is in the background.  Matagorda Island and much more water are behind me.  This famly was foraging along in the shallow waters.  Near Rockport, Texas, January 2009
Stephen > Off in the distance, I took a picture of this adult whooping crane as it foraged in the shallow waters of a small cove in the waters surrounding the Aransas National Wildlfe Refuge.  Near Rockport, Texas, January 2009
Stephen > This fine whooping crane gave me a nice pose so I took the shot under partly cloudy skies at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas.  The cloudy skies again brought out the yellow the eyes in this whooping crane.  November 20, 2007.
Stephen > Photographed November 20, 2007 on the small outer islands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas.   It was toward the end of the tour when we finally found some whooping cranes close to the shore with sone decent light even though the light produced some dark shadows.  The flock had just arrived from its breeding grounds in northern Canada.  Barrier Island in the Texas Intracoastal Highway near Rockport, Texas, November 2007
Stephen > This is the very next frame following the previous photo.  The whooping crane is still trumpeting loudly.  Barrier island in the Texas Intracoastal Highway, near Rockport, Texas, November 2007
Stephen > This is was one of the juvenile whooping cranes we saw near its parents at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, November 20, 2007, near Rockport, Texas.  We were able to get close to the juveniles near the beginning of our trip.  This shot was taken by my wife with my back-up camera.  I think she did a fine job. Obviously this was also taken when the clouds were overhead.
Stephen > This is was one of the juvenile whooping cranes we saw near its parents at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, November 20, 2007, near Rockport, Texas.  The red area on its bill is actually a wildflower I believe that stuck to the bill while it was foraging.  This was one of the few shots I was actually able to make with my camera.  It's amazing how much brown is on these juveniles considering how white their plumage is as adults.
Photographed November 20, 2007 on the small outer islands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas. It was toward the end of the tour when we finally found some whooping cranes close to the shore with sone decent light even though the light produced some dark shadows. The flock had just arrived from its breeding grounds in northern Canada. Barrier Island in the Texas Intracoastal Highway near Rockport, Texas, November 2007
 > Photographed November 20, 2007 on the small outer islands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas.   It was toward the end of the tour when we finally found some whooping cranes close to the shore with sone decent light even though the light produced some dark shadows.  The flock had just arrived from its breeding grounds in northern Canada.  Barrier Island in the Texas Intracoastal Highway near Rockport, Texas, November 2007
Photographed November 20, 2007 on the small outer islands at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, near Rockport, Texas. It was toward the end of the tour when we finally found some whooping cranes close to the shore with sone decent light even though the light produced some dark shadows. The flock had just arrived from its breeding grounds in northern Canada. Barrier Island in the Texas Intracoastal Highway near Rockport, Texas, November 2007
Camera: Canon (Canon Eos 40d) |
More details: exif |
Original size: 2592px x 3888px |
Current: 200px x 300px |
Other sizes: Small • M • L |
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Keywords: bird crane aransas whooping crane aransas national wildlife refuge
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