Whooping Crane Festival – Fiction Favorites

This weekend is the Annual Whooping Crane Festival here in Port Aransas. The Whooping Crane Festival celebrates the annual return of the cranes to their wintering habitat at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The Texas Coastal Bend is the only place where you can see the world’s last naturally occurring population of Whooping Cranes. From a low of 16 in the 1940s, the population is now 306. I hope you enjoy the photos. No, I didn’t get a shot of a Whooping Crane.

Cars parked everywhere for the Festival headquarters and exhibition.

The Civic Center. In addition to boat tours and guided forays to the habitat, there is an exposition of all things birding.

Tables loaded with exciting things for birders.

Registration table.

Port Aransas display

Welcome sign and sponsors.

Udder-Balm has been around for ages. I did not expect to see it on display. We use it on Lucy’s nose to keep it from chapping.

Lots of information about birds and the environment.

The heart of every birder’s dream. A new and better way to see the birds.

We’re talking about some serious optics here.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of the exhibition.

A shot of the cranes taken by Mike Sloat Photography.

Here is a description of the festival taken from http://www.whoopingcranefestival.org. You can visit the site for information on events.

This festival in its 22nd year is a one of a kind event, focused on the Whooping Crane, the rarest of cranes and one of the most endangered birds in the world.

The Whooping Crane population is at a record high –an estimated 431 cranes wintered at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge last year. This summer, a record 63 Whooping Crane chicks fledged on the cranes’ breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. The Whooping Crane Festival celebrates the annual return of the cranes to their wintering habitat. The Texas Coastal Bend is the only place where you can see the world’s last naturally occurring population of Whooping Cranes.

World-renowned crane expert, Dr. George Archibald, Co-Founder of the International Crane Foundation, will be one of the featured speakers, along with representatives from Wood Buffalo National Park, Operation Migration, the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, and more. Festival activities include boat tours to view the Whooping Cranes, interactive workshops and seminars, birding and nature boat and bus tours, a painting and wine tasting class and a free nature-related trade show.

A whooping Crane

Visitors from all over the country come to Port Aransas for the festival

The registration desk with a hanging quilt depicting the T-shirts from 20 festivals.

This year’s shirt

The Whooping Crane chicks are hatched in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada.

Representatives of the International Crane Foundation

Information on the Estuaries program and how to keep the Gulf beautiful.

An overall shot of the room. There were just too many booths to feature here. There were gifts, art, jewelry and more.

The famous King Ranch was represented offering birding tours.

Information for birders on the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival.

The Port Aransas Animal Rehabilitation Keep was well represented.

Need binoculars?

Fisherman’s Wharf is represented offering tours to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, home of the Whooping Cranes. This is a model of the Wharf Cat, the boat used for the trip.