Are you a South Texas Bird watcher? If so, this is the festival for you! The Whooping Crane Festival is an annual event that celebrates the migration of these magnificent creatures who travel to our Texas coast. This year is the 20th Anniversary of the event put on by the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce/Tourist Bureau and has indeed been a success throughout the years. Port Aransas has become known as the “America’s Birdiest Small Coastal City” thanks to this festival.
If you have never seen a Whooping Crane, believe us, you won’t miss it! These are the tallest birds in North American and by far the most prestige creatures flying around. Their bodies are a beautiful “snow” white with a crimson cap on the head. They have long necks and long legs with an overall slender body that plumps at the tail. They each have a very loud call and a unique courtship dance! With a count of only 20 birds, these Cranes were almost extinct in the 1940’s. As of today due to conservationist efforts the number of birds has risen to 600 today.
The festival is open to the public with a small fee of $20 that goes towards the conservationist efforts of the endangered Whooping Cranes. There are individual tours, trips, and workshops that will be priced separately. This year’s dates are February 25-28th.Come see the official “Snow Birds” of Texas!
This year’s key note speaker this year is Carter Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. There will be special events taking place in celebration of the 20th anniversary including an evening painting and wine pairing class with world renowned photographer, Zhongjie Zheng. And if you’re bringing the family, a special family birding field trip is planned also!
Check out more of this event at the official website of the festival. www.whoopingcranefestival.org
You can register online for the events and festival by using your credit cards. Be sure to check this event out, it is one that you will not want to miss!
