214 On the trail of vanishing birds 



During the first two weeks of April, 1955, all 21 birds set out 

 for the Northern breeding grounds, migrating, as usual, by family 

 groups and in small bands of two or three unmated individuals. 

 There was quite a spread to these departures, for the last whoopers 

 were seen in the vicinity of the Aransas Refuge on April 14 and 

 on that same date 5 whoopers were observed at close range in 

 Saskatchewan, and photographed in flight by Fred Bard. 



At Fort Smith, Bill Fuller was on the job. On April 26 condi- 

 tions were such that the runway there was declared unserviceable 

 for aircraft on skis, and the Beaver, used by the government serv- 

 ices, was flown to Yellowknife, and wheels installed. When ft 

 returned on the twenty-eighth, Bill immediately arranged for a 

 preliminary flight over the crane area the following day. But this 

 was prevented by a low ceiling and intermittent snow showers. 

 These conditions prevailed all through the twenty-ninth and most 

 of the thirtieth. Then, during a temporary lull late on the thir- 

 tieth, the plane took off and headed for the nesting grounds. 

 Almost at once the snow flurries resumed, but they found the gen- 

 eral area and began observations. Just when they were over the 

 critical spot the visibility improved, and Bill was able to locate 

 a pair of whooping cranes in a small pond not far from the initial 

 1954 site. He took several photographs of these two birds from an 

 altitude of about 800 feet 



The immediate organization of a ground party was considered. 

 It was not until May 5, however, that a decision was definitely 

 reached for sending a survey group into the nesting area, and on 

 that date I had just stepped off a boat at Matthewtown on the dis- 

 tant island of Inagua in the southernmost Bahamas. A radiogram 

 from John Baker said: YOU HAD BETTER LIGHT OUT FOR FORT 

 SMITH. The big moment had finally come! I cut short my flamingo 

 investigations on Inagua, headed home as fast as a slow mailboat 

 could carry me via Nassau, and began packing for the journey 

 North. 



During May there were several additional observations, all 

 within the Wood Buffalo Park area. For about a week, early in 

 that month, three whooping cranes were observed near the Hay 

 Camp, close to the Slave River. This is about seventy-two miles 



