"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:50:41 -0600, "cat daddy"
wrote:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/fram...es/h2060p3.jpg

Hmm, the straight neck theory sure seems to have been shot down by
that
photo............ However, these guys were white, not grey, although the
black wingtips weren't as dramatic as the photos I found. Thanks for the
picture.


Pelicans also fly with straight necks. Cranes make a honking noise, much
like
geese, but prettier. They fly very, very high up. Not to high to see
with the
naked eye, but to really identify them you'd need binoculars. Pelicans
swoop
around and around in formation. There are so few Whooping Cranes left
it's
scary.

Upon further research, it was unlikely they were Whoopers. One site
mentioned they don't fly in such large groups. The good news is this article
reports 190 cranes are expected in the migration this year, up from 174
reported in a census last year.
All in all it was pretty neat, no matter which species. I live near
Longhorn dam and take my Labrador, Caitlin, wading in the Colorado when the
level is down. The herons, egrets and other waterbirds make it pretty
special there and it's easy to forget one is in the city.

http://www.poncacitynews.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=34239?Local_Sports
"Whooping Cranes typically migrate during the day in small groups of two to
six birds and will occasionally join groups of migrating sandhill cranes,"

http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/whopcran.html
"The whooping crane is the only large white bird with black wingtips that
flies with its neck straight out in front, the legs trailing far behind."