This morning started off with me waking at about 5 a.m. to the sound of robins and grackles at first light. I arose from the ground and shuffled to find my flip-flops having stayed outside the night before for some backyard camping with my oldest. By 6:30, everyone was awake and not long after on this gray and cool morning, we were all dressed and ready for an adventure.
We hold a family membership at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI. We loaded the girls up and made the trip over to Baraboo; the area around Baraboo is scenic with tall hills and mature stands of trees; as I understand it, it's worth its own separate trip for birding.
While being a charitable organization which advocates for crane species the ICF often supports initiatives around the world to preserve wetland habitats; the organization is probably best know for its work rebuilding the Whooping Crane population in North America. The campus in Baraboo has on display pairs of cranes from each crane species around the world.
Blue Crane - Southern Africa
Red Crowned Crane - East Asia
Wattled Crane - Subsaharan Africa
Whooping Crane - North America
A number of the exhibits at the ICF are truly impressive. The habitats created for the Whooping Cranes and Wattled Cranes stand out as being the largest with plenty of seating / viewing area. They also have large ponds for the birds. The vegetation around the ICF is also quite impressive supporting a host of native plants including a variety of oak trees, prairie grasses, and flowers like native Blue Lupine. The ICF is currently fundraising for and constructing all new enclosures for the other crane species on display. More information on the reconstruction can be found here
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