Incidental reports suggest a historical abundance of fewer than 1,500 individuals in the late 19th century (CWS & USFWS 2005), though prior to this the population is thought to have numbered close to 10,000 (COSEWIC 2010e). Annual counts of wintering birds in Aransas, Texas, have tracked the increase in abundance resulting from intensive conservation and management efforts. These values suggest a large increase since 1970 from 57 wintering birds in 1970-71 to a high of 505 individuals in the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population in the winter of 2017-18. It should be noted that a shift in the timing of the survey (from December to February) is partly responsible for the 17% increase in the population estimate from 2016-2017; earlier surveys were likely missing a portion of the population that had not yet completed their migration (Butler and Harrell 2018). Future surveys will continue in late-January through early-February. The national population goal as stated in the Recovery Plan is to increase the population to 1,000 individuals by 2035 (Environment Canada 2007); the Whooping Crane is currently below that goal.
Additional information on: Whooping Crane abundance estimates on the North American wintering grounds (1938-2018)
