Last weekend, while visiting Kristi's folks, we all took about an hour drive to the northwest to visit a place Kristi and I have always wanted to visit - the "International Crane Foundation," just north of Baraboo, Wisconsin. http://www.savingcranes.org/

No, I don't mean the kind of cranes that lift heavy things to upper floors of tall buildings. I mean the kind of cranes that fly and have long necks and beaks. I mean crane birds. Cranes are large birds that have long necks, long beaks, and occur around the world. There are 15 species of cranes around the world, and many of them are in trouble, because they compete with human populations for food such as fish and grain. In addition, they often are very specialized in their habitats, and have long migration routes which have lots of danger.

The ICF was formed by two young men who had a passion about these birds. One of their parents let them use some family land to establish the foundation. Somehow, they have been able, through international efforts, to obtain, care for, and successfully breed pairs of all 15 species. They apparently supply reintroducction efforts all around the world.

At the Foundation's site, they have all 15 species on display, although not all of them will absolutely be out and visible at all times. But we were fortunate to be able to see most of them. While most pairs are enclosed in fenced in areas (including top fences to keep them from flying off), two species were out in open areas. One of those species was the highly endangered whooping cranes, from the U.S. I posted a photo recently of one of the whooping cranes that are available for viewing, if you happen to be there.

While it was a little zoo like to see these beautiful, large birds in cages, including cages above to keep them from flying, it was good to see them and know that there are strong efforts to protect them and keep them going.

One of the species, the "Sarus" Crane from Siberia, stood taller than me. Their profile said that they were sometimes 6' tall. I believe it. They are impressive birds.

The U.S. has two species of cranes - the highly endangered whooping cranes and the more common sandhill cranes. Both are large, impressive, beautiful birds. The whooping cranes have made the news in the last several years because of the skillful efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to imprint the young coming from the artificially inseminated mom with dolls that look pretty much like natural whooping cranes. Then, after imprinting them, they fly them down near Kissimmee Florida, leading them with an ultra light plane, which the young ones have been trained to follow. Thus far, for the most part, it's been successful even though there have been setbacks.

Following I'm going to post a picture from the Foundation. This photo is sort of a landscape of some of the outdoor compartments that they keep the cranes in. We were very impressed by their work. If you get a chance, visit there and see what they are doing.

This is a general view of the grounds of the International Crane Foundation http://www.savingcranes.org/ just north of Baraboo, Wisconsin. This gives you an idea about how the facility is laid out. It's an impressive place! — This is a general view of the grounds of the International Crane Foundation http://www.savingcranes.org/ just north of Baraboo, Wisconsin. This gives you an idea about how the facility is laid out. It's an impressive place!