Two Whooping Cranes feed among a flock of Sandhill Cranes on their wintering grounds in Greene County, Indiana.

Below is the most recent update for the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes. In the last month, all Whooping Cranes have migrated! A huge thank you to the staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Departments of Natural Resources of flyway states, the International Crane Foundation, and all the volunteers who help us keep track of the cranes throughout the year. We appreciate your contribution to the recovery of the Whooping Crane Eastern Migratory Population. This report is produced by the International Crane Foundation.

The water mud tugged at our legs as we walked through a small, freshwater pond, a lifeline for wildlife on the central Texas Coast, including the world’s rarest crane, the Whooping Crane. We are studying these critical oases and found they are extremely important to cranes during drought periods when the water in the coastal marshes becomes too saline to drink.

Whooping Crane pair 38-17 and 63-15 enjoy a sunny fall day at Horicon Marsh in Dodge County, Wisconsin.

Below is the most recent update for the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes. In the last month, migration has begun! A huge thank you to the staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Departments of Natural Resources of flyway states, the International Crane Foundation, and all the volunteers who help us keep track of the cranes throughout the year. We appreciate your contribution to the recovery of the Whooping Crane Eastern Migratory Population. This report is produced by the International Crane Foundation.

Ornithologist Paul Johnsgard, nature photographer Tom Mangelsen and International Crane Foundation Co-founder George Archibald break for a photo while birding at the Platte River in Nebraska. Photo by Linda Brown.

Every March for more than four decades, I have made my way to Nebraska to experience the gathering of perhaps the planet’s largest gathering of cranes. In late March of 2020, this was my final trip of the year as the pandemic swept over this continent. I safely returned to the same area this spring to view a portion of more than a million Sandhill Cranes, and at the same time, I had my final visit with one of the planet’s great ornithologists and lover of cranes, Paul Johnsgard. Two months later, in late May, at the age of 89 and with over 100 book titles and a litany of scientific and fictional publications, Paul passed away.

Whooping Crane pair 69-16/W10-15 tend to their chick in Juneau County, Wisconsin.

Below is the most recent update for the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes. In the last month, many chicks have hatched! A huge thank-you to the staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Departments of Natural Resources of flyway states, the International Crane Foundation and all the volunteers who help us keep track of the cranes throughout the year. We appreciate your contribution to the recovery of the Whooping Crane Eastern Migratory Population. This report is produced by the International Crane Foundation.

Whooping Crane pair L8-16 and L22-17 at their nest in Chambers County, Texas. The young pair, now five and four years old, met and paired in eastern Texas in 2019.

Today, we are excited to share the news of two Whooping Crane nests in eastern Texas. This is the first time Whooping Cranes have been documented nesting in Texas since the early 1900s!

Gee Whiz, a Whooping Crane extremely important to crane reintroduction, passed away recently in Crane City, our breeding facility. He lived for 38 years and nine months.

A miracle from inception, Gee Whiz was the first Whooping Crane to hatch at the International Crane Foundation and only the fifth Whooping Crane at our headquarters. He also was the only living son of Tex, a legendary Whooping Crane made famous by her closest friend, International Crane Foundation Co-founder Dr. George Archibald. The world learned about Tex when George appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1982 to tell their inspiring story of Whooping Crane reintroduction perseverance. George Archibald danced with Tex to induce her to lay eggs.