Ospreyers:

The Anne Arundel Bird Club cordially invites you to attend its program on 
RESTORING WHOOPING CRANES IN THE WILD: A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY on Friday, November 5, 2004 at 8:00m in the Conference Room of the DNR Tawes Building on Taylor Avenue in Annapolis.
Dr. John B. French, Jr. will present a fascinating story of efforts to bring
back the Whooper from near extinction, with many fascinating photos of the bird and recovery efforts. He is a Research Manager at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and a member of the U.S.-Canada Whooping Crane Recovery Team. He oversees the Crane program at Patuxent and he will speak on the recovery of Whooping Cranes in North America. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has been dedicated to endangered species research for many years and began the long-term effort in Whooping Crane conservation with the acquisition of "Canus" in 1966, the first crane captured for propagation in North America. At that time, there were only about 42 wild Whooping Cranes in North America; now there are ten times that number. Patuxent's captive flock also has grown, and now produces 20-30 chicks each year for release in order to restore populations of Whooping Cranes to the wild. Efforts to successfully establish separate flocks in Florida and elsewhere will be discussed.

Sue Ricciardi, for Program Chair Gerald Winegrad
Anne Arundel Bird Club