2016.12.23 Friday: All of my family was off today for the Christmas holiday, so we spent the afternoon strolling around Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, and birding at their Observation Building. It was a warm beautiful day to spend outdoors!
While at the Observation Building we were treated to the awesome sight of thousands of Sandhill Cranes (They presently have 10,000+ Sandhill cranes wintering at the refuge!) and some Whooping Cranes. Although we only saw 3 of the latter, the staff said that they have spotted 12 Whooping cranes there recently ...1 of them a juvenile! (This is wonderful news, as Whooping cranes are an endangered species.)
We also saw a very nice variety of ducks, geese, wigeons, shovelers, etc. It was a wonderful afternoon; we enjoyed the sights and just enjoyed spending time together.
As we were leaving, these Sandhill cranes flew directly over the parking lot ...It was a beautiful sight!
