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Join us in supporting whooping cranes and the people devoted to their future. Share your own whooper story below.

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The International Crane Foundation works tirelessly to conserve crane populations and protect the ecosystems, watersheds, and flyways that cranes, people, and many other species depend on. Donations support on-the-ground work and ensure accessible public education by ICF experts who inspire care for our natural world.

International Crane Foundation

See a Whooping Crane

Whooping cranes can be found in different parts of North America depending on the time of year. You can go see them for yourself!

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Share Your Story

Share a memorable whooping crane sighting, story, or a creative piece where a whooper was your muse. This could be a song, written story, images, drawings, etc. Although we are unable to publish every submission, our Voices page is a place to build community and celebrate these birds!

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Podcast

Listen to shared stories from those who love whooping cranes. 

Natural History

Explore whooping crane biology, behavior, life cycle, diet, and more.

Gallery

View never before seen images of whooping cranes in the wild and captivity.

Ethical Practices

It is important to demonstrate ethical viewing practices when seeking out wild whooping cranes. Always maintain a distance of at least 2,000 feet and never approach the birds. Remain in established viewing areas or vehicles and use binoculars. Keep noise and distractions such as camera flashes, rapid movement, bright colors, voices, and other sounds to a minimum.

Remaining as least distracting as possible will limit disturbance to these sensitive birds and avoid flushing them from the area. Being an ethical viewer also ensures the best viewing experience for yourself as cranes exhibit their normal, natural behavior.

Wintering

Wild migratory whooping cranes spend their winters in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along the Texas Gulf Coast. The birds typically arrive in late October and leave in April, so the winter is the best time to visit. You can sign up for boating tours, such as Aransas Bay Adventures: Birding Photo & Fishing Tours in Rockport, Texas.

https://aransasbayadventures.com/

"We Specialize in Whooping Crane Photography Tours"

Nesting

In the summer, the wild migratory whooping cranes breed and nest in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta, Canada. We do not recommend seeking out the birds during nesting season, however, if you are driving near the park, although very unlikely, you may be fortunate enough to see one fly overhead. 

Migrating

Visit the Crane Trust or Audubon Rowe Sanctuary in the spring and join a viewing tour on Nebraska’s Platte River for the chance to see whooping cranes and to enjoy the sandhill crane migration, one of the greatest migrations in the world. In the fall, as whoopers head back south, you can catch them moving through Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Join a bird tour or hang out around nearby wheat fields to catch a glimpse of them.

Living Sky Wildlife Rehab tours 
Eagle-eye tours
Meadowlark Birding tours

Year-Round

There are options to observe whooping cranes in captivity. The International Crane Foundation has captive whooping cranes at its headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The resident birds at ICF help produce chicks each year for reintroduction into the wild and genetic management of the species.

Louisiana has an ongoing reintroduction project by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and LDWF that aims to establish a self-sustaining population of non-migratory whooping cranes in southwest Louisiana from populations in Wisconsin. You may be able to spot one of these birds at White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, located in Vermilion Parish.

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