Each year since 1996, the Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas, Texas has celebrated the annual return of the cranes to their wintering habitat at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. In 2025, the festival is back and ready to celebrate its 28th anniversary!

The four-day event will feature renowned speakers, birding trips, boating trips, nature tours, photography workshops, a trade show, and much more.

Schedule of Events:

February 20, 2025

8 am to 2:30 pm - Fennessey Ranch Bus Tour
9 am to 11 am - Nature Preserve Workday
10 am to 12 pm - Island Birding Bus Tour
2 pm to 4 pm - Island Birding Bus Tour
10 am to 2:30 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
2 pm to 3:30 pm - Explore Local Waterways
4:30 pm to 6 pm - Sunset Wine & Dolphin Cruise
5 pm to 7 pm - Welcome Reception
7 pm to 8 pm - Public Lecture Series with George Archibald at UTMSI Patton Center
IMPORTANT NOTE: This event is FREE, and no reservations will be taken for spots. First come, first serve.

February 21, 2025

6 am to 1 pm - King Ranch Tour
7 am to 11:30 am - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
10 am to 2:30 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
12:30 pm to 5 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
7:30 am to 1 pm - Explore Lamar Peninsula with Mikael Behrens
8 am to 10 am - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
11 am to 1 pm - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
8 am to 11 am - "Getting Close to Nature" with Ruth Hoyt
10 am to 10:50 am - "Collaborations for Cranes: The Whooping Crane Center of Texas" with Chris Corpus, Dallas Zoo
1 pm to 1:50 pm - "Collaborations for Cranes: The Whooping Crane Center of Texas" with Chris Corpus, Dallas Zoo
2 pm to 2:50 pm - "Collaborations for Cranes: The Whooping Crane Center of Texas" with Chris Corpus, Dallas Zoo
10 am to noon - "Flight and Action at the Jetty" Field Trip with Kathy Adams Clark
10:30 am to 11:30 am - "Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population" with Stephanie Schmidt
10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Island Birding Bus Tour
12:30 am to 2 pm - Explore Local Waterways
1 pm to 2 pm - "Whooping Cranes and the Landscapes They Traverse" with Matti Bradshaw, International Crane Foundation
1 pm to 4 pm - Wine, Whine, & Design
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm - "My Life with Cranes" Book Signing with Dr. George Archibald
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm - Colonial waterbirds coping with a changing Texas coast", with Dale Gawlik, Harte Research Insitute
3 pm to 6 pm - Photography Lessons on the Water
4 pm to 5 pm - Give a Whoop: Education and Prosecutions to Save a Species" with Dr. Carter Crouch and Kevin McAbee, International Crane Foundation
4:30 pm to 6 pm - Sunset Wine & Dolphin Cruise
6 pm to 7:30 pm - "Into Whooperland – A Photographer’s Journey with Whooping Cranes" Michael Forsberg

February 22, 2025

6 am to 1 pm - King Ranch Tour
6:30 am to 1 pm - Fennessey Ranch Bus Tour
7 am to 11:30 am - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
10 am to 2:30 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
12:30 pm to 5 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
7:30 am to 1 pm - Explore Lamar Peninsula with Mikael Behrens
8 am to 10 am - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
11 am to 1 pm - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm - Hop Aboard The R/V Katy For A "Scientific" Experience
8 am to 10 am - "Photographing Birds in Action" workshop with Kathy Adams Clark
8:30 am to 9:30 am - Birds of Prey Show by Wildlife Revealed
11:30 am to 12:30 pm - Birds of Prey Show by Wildlife Revealed
2:30 pm to 3:30 pm - Birds of Prey Show by Wildlife Revealed
8:30 am to 10 am - "My 25 Year Romance with Birds" by Ruth Hoyt
10 am to noon - Island Birding Bus Tour
10 am to 1 pm - Discover the Lighthouse Trails with Coastal Bend Kayak Tours
10:30 am to 11:30 am - "A Tale of Two Cranes" with Sara Zimorski, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
11 am to 1 pm - Walking Tour with Texas Master Naturalist Ray Dillahunty
12 pm to 2 pm - "Building Blocks of Crane Behavior" by Katie Fernald, Stephanie Schmidt, and Paityn Bower
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm - "Trends and Prospects for Saving the Whooping Crane" with Dr. Robin Doughty, University of Texas
1 pm to 2 pm - Book Signing with Michael Forsberg: "Into Whooperland"
2:15 pm to 3:30 pm - "Birdie Big Year: Elevating Women Birders" featuring Tiffany Kersten
3 pm to 6 pm - Photography Lessons on the Water
4 pm to 5 pm - "Exploring the Relationships Between Whooping Cranes and Indigenous Peoples in South Texas" with Rose Elizondo
4 pm to 7 pm - "Photographing Backlit Birds" workshop and field trip with Jennifer Leigh Warner
4:30 pm to 6 pm - Sunset, Wine & Dolphin Cruise
5 pm to 8 pm - Wine, Whine & Design

February 23, 2025

6 am to 1 pm - King Ranch Tour
8 am to 10 am - Nature Preserve Walk with the Holts
8 am to 12:30 pm - Whooping Crane Boat Tour
10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Island Birding Bus Tour

Date: February 20 - 23, 2025

Location: Various Venues in Port Aransas, TX

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