249 The long flight back 



each winter will continue to enjoy the sight of the pink flocks 

 that enhance the beauty of this region today. A survey is now 

 planned for the purpose of learning the exact needs of the spoon- 

 bills in this respect, and for selecting suitable areas that might be 

 preserved for this use. With the support of local civic groups and 

 county and state officials, such a plan may be carried out soon 

 enough so that the presence of the roseate spoonbill in the fabu- 

 lous Florida Keys may be assured for all time to come. 



The future of the whooping crane and the flamingo is beyond 

 prediction. A great deal depends on public opinion, especially in 

 the immediate areas where the problems these two species face 

 are the most serious. There is considerable evidence that the public 

 that is in direct contact with the whooping crane will not only 

 continue its help in every way, but will increase this support. It 

 may well have been a sign of things to come in this respect when 

 the U.S. Air Force recently backed down on its plan to establish 

 a flash-bombing range on Matagorda Island, immediately ad- 

 jacent to the main wintering flock of whooping cranes on Aransas 

 Refuge, and on the actual winter territories of some of these birds. 

 Had the range been put in operation the results would undoubtedly 

 have been fatal to Grus americana. 



Our Canadian friends took this threat so seriously that their 

 government made an official protest to the State Department in 

 Washington. When the military finally gave in, a sigh of relief 

 went up that could be heard from coast to coast in both the 

 United States and Canada. A Toronto paper printed a cartoon 

 that reflected the general feeling. It depicted an adult whooping 

 crane standing straight and proud, a medal pinned to his chest. 

 Beside him a young whooper looked up at his parent with shining 

 eyes. He asked his father to tell him again the story of how he 

 licked the U.S. Air Force. With such a spirit abroad in the land 

 it seems to me that there is hope not only for whooping cranes 

 but for mankind as well. 



Will these and the other endangered birds be able to make the 

 long flight back? Or are they doomed, in course of time, to join 

 the ghostly legions of those that have already been needlessly 

 destroyed by man? There are many reasons for the hope that we 



