“Yeah, heel toe, do si do, come on baby, let's go DANCIN!”

Brooks and Dunn,

Boot Scootin’ Boogie

Right now these merry dancers are leaving Texas

And heading north some 2,700 long arduous miles

They are now heading to their summer home in Canada

And watching them migrate brings me many Spring smiles

With a wingspan of seven and a half feet

And standing well over four to five feet high

Whooping Cranes are North America’s tallest birds

And 200 of them will now be soaring through the sky

These majestic birds are on the endangered list

This flock once numbered 1,500 whooping cranes

Today in the entire world there are only about 400 left

And to lose any more of them would be a damned shame

Much of the wetland along their migratory route

Has been destroyed by our modern civilization

And goose hunters often take pot shots at them

Not bothering to confirm their crane identification

There are also many tall power and communication wires

Which can sadly ensnare these whoopers while they’re in flight

So if you live anywhere at all along their Spring migratory route

Why not come out and cheer them on along their way – what a sight

Whooping cranes have snowy white bodies

Huge black wingtips and bright red crowns

And if you have ever seen them doin the Boogie

You know their Dance Routine takes away frowns

Watching whooping cranes dance gives me a thrill

They joyously jump into the air and flap their huge wings

And these birds merrily dance for the very same reasons we do

To court their lovely mates and to herald in a magnificent new Spring

Whooping Cranes have been on the Endangered Species List since the 1970s because much of their wetland habitat has been drained for farmland, pasture, and industrial purposes.

From 1870 to 1920, many of these Whooping Cranes were also shot for food and sport, and the numbers in this flock drastically fell from as many as 1,500 in 1870 to only about 15 in 1939.

Today, there are sadly only about 400 of these magnificent birds left in the entire world.

This Western flock of Whooping Cranes has begun leaving their winter home in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast to journey to their summer home in Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park – some 2,700 arduous miles to the north.

We should all wish them well on their annual Spring journey and dance.

And nature lovers of all ages can actually follow their migration progress on a wonderful website called Journey North, which is linked below.

Yeah, heel toe, do si do, come on baby let's go DANCIN'
Ohhh baby, meet me out back, then we're gonna, boogie
Get down, turn around, let’s go to Canada, whooper boogie

©2007, A Boot Scootin, Dance Lovin, Nature Inspired, Mr. Ed