Sandhill and whooping cranes remain symbols of longevity.
When Kathy and I were married, a pair of bamboo Japanese cranes graced the top of our wedding cake to symbolize the longevity of our marital bond.
In Asian societies, cranes are symbols of happiness and long life. American Indian tribes saw cranes as symbols of peace, leadership and good omens for fishing.
The Greek myth of Ibycus tells of a lyrical poet killed by robbers and avenged by cranes, and the Greek philosopher Aristotle saw flying cranes with leaders holding flocks in unison as a lesson for human societies.
Cranes are likely the most ancient of modern living birds. Fossil records for North American cranes date back at least 2.5 million years. Small wonder cranes symbolize longevity.
America’s two species, whooping and sandhill cranes, already are settled on Texas wintering grounds.
Sandhill cranes are the most abundant worldwide, with populations exceeding a quarter million. The birds arriving in our area may come from Canadian breeding grounds.
The 4-foot-tall birds prance along nearby prairies on long thin legs and big feet, while holding their long necks in an S-shape. Plumed in gray and capped in red, the birds display an arresting bundle of rump feathers called a bustle. This distinguishes cranes from herons and egrets.
They fly on 6½-foot wingspans with outstretched necks while uttering chortles used to “talk” with each other.
Whooping cranes fly majestically on 8-foot wingspans and arrive on winter grounds at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge from their breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada.
They stand 5 feet tall and strut like avian royalty wearing silk-white plumage, rouge crowns and black-trimmed wings. When flying, they seemingly announce their nobility with booming calls — like an introduction from military buglers.
While they are a symbol for longevity, the endangered birds actually cling to existence. They once numbered around 1,400, nesting on the Great Plains in the U. S. and Canada. But their numbers plummeted to about
18 birds in 1938 due to overhunting.
Work by wildlife agencies, conservation groups and governments enabled the whooping- cranes to rebound to a current wild population of about 330 at the Aransas refuge. Most of the population breeds at the Canadian park and then winters at the delicately if not precariously
balanced prairies and marshes of the Aransas refuge.
Take time to see sandhill and whooping cranes. Every time Kathy and I watch the stately birds, we clasp hands like we did when taking our vows.
Contact Gary Clark or photographer Kathy Adams Clark at texasbirder.net