Volunteering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Curt and I have both signed up and attended training to be volunteers at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. This is the amazing place, about an hour north of Rockport, where the endangered whooping cranes winter every year. At one point, in 1941, there were only 21 "whoopers" in the world, and because of their protected status and great efforts on the part of conservationists, there are about 550 in the world today. At Aransas we have most of them: 304 adults and 34 chicks. Standing at 5 1/2 feet and having a wingspan of 8 feet, these are pretty magnificent birds! (Interestingly, as large as they are, they weigh only 15 pounds!)

Curt has attended more training sessions than I have, and yesterday was the inaugural run of his guided van tour... And he did a terrific job. Naturally! We filled the van (15 passengers), and we all learned a great deal about the National Wildlife Service in general, Aransas NWR, specifically, and the wonderful diversity of flora and fauna there. Here are a few shots of our tour yesterday, and some taken on a previous visit for one of our training sessions. I'm sure you'll be able to see that it's a pretty spectacular place!

On the way in and out of the refuge, we did see a flock of Sandhill cranes. They're a little smaller than the whooping cranes and not quite as striking to look at, but still a wonderful treat for birders everywhere:

First stop when we go to volunteer is to sign in at the volunteers' workroom. It's a great space with lots of educational resources. Since some of the volunteers live on the refuge in their RV's, the workroom also has kitchen and relaxation facilities, restrooms, showers and laundry facilities.

Then on to the Visitors' center to greet the other staff and volunteers who were working:

While Curt was making final arrangements for the tour, I cruised around the Visitors' Center and took a few photos, so you can find out a little about the whoopers.

And here are a few more animals found on the refuge:

Soon it was time to greet all the visitors, load in the van and begin the tour:

First stop was where you can often see alligators. This one fellow accommodated us nicely:

There were lots of opportunities to see interesting sights, both plant and animal-based.

Between stops, Curt kept us informed and entertained as another volunteer, Shauna, drove us around the 15-mile loop.

This is the amazing tower at the far end of the loop. From the top you can see for miles. The sunset photos and the picture of a wounded whooping crane were taken on a previous trip to Aransas NWR.

Curt did such a great job that nobody (except me) had any idea that it was his first tour until he confessed at the end. He received a rousing ovation from all the participants.

Opportunities like this are just one more reason why we love this part of Texas so much. Though we're already getting excited about being "on the loose" again this summer, we're also looking forward to returning to Rockport in the fall.