A New Spring--Hope for the Future of Whooping Cranes

Here is the finished painting, "A New Spring", representing the hope that the eastern reintroduced whooping cranes will pair and reproduce their own young.  (See previous post for progression of painting.)  Once this population is self-sustaining, that is, increasing its numbers by raising chicks in the wild, we will have more assurance that wild Whooping Cranes will be safe from extinction.

The painting has become one of the four images representing the Whooping Crane reintroduction story on the banners decorating the entrance and exit to the Whooping Crane exhibit at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

Photo credit:  Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park

In my last post I mentioned that the image in this painting was inspired by my observations of Whooping Crane parents caring for their chick during its first six days at the International Crane Foundation in 2005. That was the first time a pair of Whooping Cranes had raised a chick in public view. While I was there, I called my videographer friend, Jeff Huxman, and asked if he knew this was happening!  He came right away and took some video images of the chick.  I thought you would enjoy seeing a little bit of what it was like to enjoy these intimate moments with the Whooping Crane Family.



Next:  The four finished images

To see all my posts on the Smithsonian National Zoo project visit:  Whooping Crane art
More about my involvement with the Whooping Crane reintroduction at:  Whooping Crane Migration from my companion blog, Vickie Henderson Art
More of my Whooping Crane art:  Whooping Crane Watercolor Gallery
Organizations that help Whooping Cranes:
Operation Migration
International Crane Foundation
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership