Aransas Wildlife Refuge

Aransas Refuge is the winter home of the Whooping Crane.

This 500 year old oak tree is worth the hike to see.

Enlarge this photo and you should see an alligator on the left, as the heron is on the right.

One of several armadillos we encountered on our bird walk.

Pat chasing an armadillo with her phone camera.

Our major trip of the week was to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is about a 50 mile drive from Mustang Island, but is really much closer than that by water. ANWR is the winter home of North America's Whooping Crane. Nearly extinct a few decades ago, the breed has made a remarkable recovery. In the January, 2009 census 270 whoopers were counted on the refuge. Because the refuge is so large, and access to all parts limited, we only saw one whooper - and that was too far away to see without binoculars. Sadly, it was also too far away to photograph with any meaning. We may try a boat trip next month to see if we might be able to encounter more whoopers, and get a little closer. Meanwhile, the day we spent on the refuge was a full one. We saw LOTS of birds, including a large concentration of hawks, feral hogs, whitetail deer, armadillos, and alligators. No danger from the alligators as it's not possible to get very close to them. Nonetheless, they are present in good number - we counted about 14 - and interesting to watch.