This past summer was a good one for seeing cranes! Back in May I visited the International Crane Foundation for the first time. They are one of the few zoos that has all fifteen species of cranes on display. Also, they do a lot of great work getting Whooping Crane population numbers back up. Here's a picture of their enclosure for the Whooping Cranes where one crane was always on the nest while the other was looking for food.
Later that summer I was in Montana. While walking in a field near Anaconda with some family, we disturbed three cranes who immediately took flight. The red heads, black wing tips, and white bodies indicated that these were three more Whooping Cranes! The only thing I can't figure out is the brown splotches on the back since adult Whooping Cranes are pure white. So I believe that these are young cranes, still with some of the brown coloring from their younger days. Any crane experts out there?
Later that summer I was in Montana. While walking in a field near Anaconda with some family, we disturbed three cranes who immediately took flight. The red heads, black wing tips, and white bodies indicated that these were three more Whooping Cranes! The only thing I can't figure out is the brown splotches on the back since adult Whooping Cranes are pure white. So I believe that these are young cranes, still with some of the brown coloring from their younger days. Any crane experts out there?
