I just returned from a weekend of photographing along the Upper Texas coast with friends from Houston. Saturday morning we chartered a boat to take us out to a chain of islands where wintering Whooping Cranes could be found. We were very fortunate to find at least 8 Whooping Cranes including one juvenile bird. There are fewer than 250 pairs of Whooping Cranes left in the wild due to habitat loss but rehabilitation efforts are having great success and numbers are quickly rebounding. Most of the Whooping Crane population winters along the Texas coast while a smaller population also winters in Florida.
Spent the rest of the weekend trying to work on other Texas specialties, such as Nine-banded Armadillo, White-tailed Hawk, Mottled Duck, Tropical Parula, Neotropic Cormorant and others. Lots of photos follow:
Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane (juv.)
Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane
White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Nine-banded Armadillo
Tropical Parula
Eastern Phoebe
Roseate Spoonbill
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis
Rusty Blackbird
Mottled Duck
Forster’s Tern
American White Pelican
American Oystercatcher
Neotropic Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Crested Caracara