A Whooping Crane looks for breakfast in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Rockport, Texas. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

In early December, I drove to Rockport, Texas. Mission: to visit the Whooping Cranes at their winter home.

Sunrise on Aransas Bay, Texas. Photograph, Ann Fisher.

I met Captain Kevin Sims the next morning, just before sunrise, and we headed out in Aransas Bay towards the marsh and the cranes.

The Whooping Crane is one of the most endangered bird species in North America. At their low point in 1941, there were only 15 birds. Extinction seemed certain. In 2015, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the count now stands at 635 (329 birds in the Aransas/Wood-Buffalo flock, 145 in other re-introduced populations, and 161 in captivity).

They are the tallest birds in North America, standing approximately 5 feet tall, with a wingspan of 7.5 foot, but they are very light…