I went to go see the Whooping Crane in Todd County this morning. I drove around a bit, and luckily a Whooping Crane isn't hard to miss. I found the bird west of Swanville about 1/2 mile south of CR 104. First and foremost, they are magnificent birds, so seeing the bird was an amazing experience, especially watching it preen and extend its wings out to stretch. Unfortunately the bird was banded, most likely meaning it came from the Wisconsin flock, and thus not countable. Anyway, it had two bands on its left leg-red and white, and three bands on its right leg-orange, green, orange.
Ben Fritchman Fargo, ND
