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Grus americana
Cranes or Herons?
Cranes or Herons? I can not tell if this pair are white morphs of the Great Blue Heron or Whooping Cranes. This is in an area where there are both herons and a huge number of Sandhill Cranes. (At one point they were working on having whooping cranes assisted by sandhill cranes.) This spotting was in October - migrating southward. I only saw this pair once at a pretty far distance. Even with a long lens this was the best I could do. Perhaps someone who is more familiar with posture and body/neck shape would be able to tell which bird this is.
Thanks for the help. I am glad I got a pic of these - or even I wouldn't believe me!
No doubt about it! There are no other birds in WI that large or that white other than the endangered Whooping Crane. I would suggest reporting these birds.
The white morph of the Great Blue Heron is found only in Southern Florida. Though the pictures aren't all that clear, from the way they are holding their heads and the fact that the heads look to have some dark on them, I'm guessing these are indeed Whooping Cranes.
Spotted on Oct 29, 2006
Submitted on Jul 16, 2011
+1
