Meet the Whoopers
Meet the wild and captive whooping cranes Mike has met and intercepted during this project. Each bird was given a nickname, either by a scientist, landowner, or Mike, and some have official telemetry numbers and band colors to help identify each bird.
Stories Coming Soon!
First Family
The first family of whooping cranes that Mike photographed at the beginning of the project.
Husker Red
Mike has photographed Husker Red more than any other whooping crane, and along his journey, she keeps popping up in the most serendipitous ways…
Brutus
Injured from battle, and once thought to be dead, Brutus’ story began in 2019 and is not over yet…
The Church Family
A multigenerational family of four, this wild whooping crane family navigates the flyway and intercepts Mike and others along the way.
The J Birds
Nineteen of the roughly 110 wild whooping crane chicks born in 2022. One of them, 15J, was the author’s muse for an article in National Geographic Magazine.
The Nyarlings
Photographer Mike Forsberg and biologist Andy Caven observed these birds on their nest deep in the Canadian Wilderness for eight days.
Cloud, Spirit, & Sheena
A dramatic love triangle between brother, sister, and lady-friend.
Fog
The offspring of the love triangle and having an amputated wing, this bird is living a cushy life at the survival center in Louisiana.
Omega & Seurat
The ambassador birds at the International Crane Foundation, this pair has been together since 2002 and can be found dancing together after hours…
Bob
Bob is one whooping crane, yet many. It’s a Nebraska Platte River thing…
El Campo
She migrates off the beaten path, wintering inland, and is known by many of the Texan locals.
Lone Juv
Abandoned by her parents, she had to figure out how to make the annual 5,000-trip migration all by herself…
Yay & Nay
These are “Al and Diane’s birds”, coming back to their ranch in Texas for more than 20 years.