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restore migratory Whooping Cranes to eastern North America, now in its 20th year, initially taught young cranes to migrate from breeding areas in central Wisconsin to west-central Florida for the winter. Over the years, the birds have had other ideas about where best to winter. The first few showed up at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in northern Alabama in 2004, and they have been coming back ever since. Last year, at least 14 Whoopers wintered among the thousands of Sandhill Cranes that also spend the colder months at Wheeler. In mid-November 2020, a few Whoopers had already come back to the refuge to settle in for winter. Read more about birding