That's right, these cranes aren't from Texas
When the chills begin to arrive in late October, whooping cranes residing in Canada's Northwest Territories bolt for Texas' warm weather and blue crabs. The birds literally flock to small fishing ports like Rockport and Fulton. Homo sapiens hoping to get a glimpse of these gangly white fliers should hop on boats touring along the Blackjack Peninsula and into the heart of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Here, bird families will squabble and feast while single males are strutting, trumpeting bugle-like whoops (hence the name), flapping wings, and throwing sticks to impress the ladies of the species. A rare creature (only 178 migrate to the refuge), the birds have made an amazing recovery (only 15 were counted in 1937), largely due to the 70,504-foot refuge. Capt. Ted Appell has been running trips for 24 years, and he guarantees bird sightings November through March (800/3384551; $33 per person). Contact: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (512/286-3559).
Adapted from Wild Encounters, by Diane Bair and Pamela Wright (Willow Creek Press: 715/358-7010; $19.50).
Copyright Hearst Magazines Nov 1999
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