Today I witnessed nothing short of a miracle. While sitting at my desk playing on the computer I caught something out of the corner of my eye in the window. I looked and it disappeared. Then it reappeared. Then it disappeared again. Then it came back again. A flock of whooping cranes riding thermals. OMG!!! There were at least 200 of them. They were magnificent. Just climbing higher and higher. Circling and swirling like a school of fish in the open ocean. Back and forth in circles. Higher and higher.
There are less than 400 whooping cranes left in the wild. They are literally extinct. Today I was blessed to see half of the population ride a thermal over my apartment. Higher and higher. Without a wing flapping. Just soaring in the wind. I could hear them. It was awesome...
These creatures are magnificent. White with black wingtips. On the ground they stand about 5 feet tall. To see these things fly over my apartment outside of my window stunned me. I stood in what I can only call rapture for more than half of an hour as these wonderful creatures soared overhead. I was overwhelmed to say the least. To see half of a wild population was amazing. To watch them dance on the wind was divine.
400. My god. Only 400 of these amazing creatures left in the wild. And to see half of them soaring over my apartment... Just circling and riding a thermal.
Whooping cranes are the tallest and rarest of all North American birds. When they set their wings to the wind they rival condors in size and aerobatics. Today, I was witness to something I can only describe as a gift. An incredible miracle, if you will... I am still smiling.
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