Mississippi sandhill cranes get first taste of freedom

Twenty-two young sandhill cranes have been freed into the wild by their caretakers at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge near Gautier. By the Associated Press.

http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/11/5185341/miss-sandhill-cranes-get-first.html

Photo gallery:
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/11/5185445/mississippi-sandhill-cranes-get.html

Guardian of the cranes at Poyang Lake

One winter morning, a short-haired girl is busy feeding the cranes at the Poyang Lake Wetland Park on Baishazhou Island on Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. Zou Jinlian, a twenty-something girl, is known around the wetland park as 'guardian of the cranes'. By Liu Zhankun (Women of China).

http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/womenofchina/report/168089-1.htm

Black-necked cranes in Tibet

A flock of black-necked cranes are photographed at Hutoushan Reservoir in Lhasa, Tibet, on Dec. 10, 2013. (China News).

http://www.china.org.cn/environment/2013-12/12/content_30876182.htm

Fall in endangered-crane numbers reported at Vietnam park

Conservationists have expressed concern over the decreasing number of Sarus cranes – an endangered species – in the Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap. (Thanh Nien News).

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20131205-reduced-number-of-endangered-cranes-reported-in-vietnam-park.aspx

Eurasian crane recovers from cataract surgery

Life had become a blur for the crane whose fuzzy vision had kept him in captivity. Experts were baffled by the Eurasian crane’s unusual behaviour which saw him spend a lot time on his own and lose weight. By Kate Scotter (EDP 24).

http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/video_pensthorpe_crane_recovers_from_pioneering_eye_surgery_1_3031678

Visit Kheechan in Western Rajasthan to witness the demoiselle cranes

Kheechan is a quaint little village in Western Rajasthan that sleeps for five months. Then suddenly, it wakes up on a September morning when the first lot of about 20 migratory birds rent the air with a deafening 'kraaw-kraaw'. These birds, known as demoiselle cranes or kurja in Rajasthani, come all the way from Mongolia. By Gangadharan Menon (Mid-day Infomedia).

http://www.mid-day.com/lifestyle/2013/dec/011213-lifestyle-travel-kheechan-western-rajasthan-demoiselle-cranes-migrated-from-mongolia-kurja.htm

World’s Last Flock of Wild Whooping Cranes Returns to Texas

The world’s last flock of wild whooping cranes is now arriving in Texas, as the endangered birds make their annual winter migration to the coast from northern Canada. (The Anuhuac Progress)

http://www.thevindicator.com/anahuac_progress/article_0fc185b8-5d36-11e3-bca3-0019bb2963f4.html