133 Rusty 



came trotting back again, between the towering columns of Crip's 

 long legs, and stopping, he looked up. We were too far away to 

 hear it, but no doubt he was uttering the "strange piping whistle" 

 that Bradshaw heard when he saw the young whooper at the last 

 Saskatchewan nest. Then Crip bent over with a soft and graceful 

 tenderness, and finding the tiny mouth with the tip of his great 

 bill, fed him. In all my experience with birds, this was the most 

 wonderful, and the most moving scene I have ever witnessed. 

 Everett Beaty, who was with me on the tower, now had a good 

 look at Rusty, much to my relief, as things turned out. 



On the afternoon of Rusty's third day the parents wandered 

 some yards from the nest, and from the way they stepped, looking 

 down and evidently feeding him from time to time, the little 

 fellow must have been running along at their feet. Our position 

 was more than 200 yards from the nest, and even with a powerful 

 telescope we could not follow Rusty's progress beyond that point, 

 as the growth of sea oxeye was so heavy and of such height that 

 he was completely hidden. It was at this juncture that we first 

 began to feel concern for his safety. 



That same afternoon we saw turkey vultures soaring close to 

 the cranes, and once a caracara flew into the area and settled for 

 some moments on an open stretch of ground, apparently watching 

 them. Julian brought us his small-bore rifle, which was equipped 

 with a telescopic sight, and we kept it close at hand. Toward 

 dusk we heard the parent cranes call, and saw several raccoons 

 running along over the salt flats not far from the nest. One of 

 the boys took the rifle and walked up along the west side of the 

 enclosure fence, but the 'coons had disappeared. 



That night the weather changed abruptly, and at dawn there 

 was a high wind and a cold, biting rain. Anxiously we peered 

 through the half-light to where the nest was located. Both of the 

 old birds seemed to be there, one of them crouched on the nest 

 as if brooding the chick. As daylight advanced they remained in 

 this position and then, to our consternation, the brooding bird 

 stood, and the pair started off in a leisurely manner toward the 

 far corner of the enclosure. We could not see Rusty and didn't 

 know if he was running along beside them or not. The tension 



