I went for a drive in the country this morning. Despite the chilly and windy weather, it was a great morning. Here’s what I saw:

The picture’s a little fuzzy, but these are Snow Geese. There are two kinds – the white ones and the ones that are dark grey with white heads, which are the blue morphs. The ones that are all dark (see the one in the top left corner) are the juvenile blue morphs, and the white ones with some grey (see the ones in lower right corner, who are preening) are the juvenile whites. The two geese in the middle, that look like short-necked Canada Geese, are called Cackling Geese. They are new to my list. Next up:

These are Sandhill Cranes, also new to my list. Here’s a little better picture of an individual:

But the awesomest part of the day (I know there’s no such word as awesomest – but there should be!) is what I saw next – and the reason for the joyous title for this post:

Yep – Whooping Cranes! There was a group (a flock? what do you call a group of Whooping Cranes? I think it should be a whack – a whack of Whooping Cranes – make it so…) There was a whack of Whooping Cranes – ten adults and one juvenile. Here’s the best shot I got of the juvenile:

It’s the rust-coloured one, third from the right. I know the pictures are small and kind of fuzzy, but I took them from the road. I thought it was more important to respect these majestic birds’ space than get a perfect picture. Here’s one when two others came in for a landing:

Needless to say, Whooping Cranes are also new to my list. I was thrilled to see these magnificent creatures, who on their way back from the brink of extinction. Now there’s something to be thankful for!