This is Bird Note. I'm Georgia Sparling, a writer and

podcaster from Southern Mississippi.

There's something arresting about the Mississippi's

and Hillcrain. Long-legged and four feet tall,

they're almost exclusively gray with a striking

rest-colored crown on their heads. The birds are anything

but subtle. On more than one morning, I've heard the

arrival of these cranes, the slap of their substantial

wings and the echo of their almost prehistoric calls

across the wet pine savannas near the Gulf Coast.

But they don't venture far from here. While almost all

San Hill cranes migrate, the Mississippi subspecies

is an exception to the rule. They live year-round in these

unique savanna habitats, a blend of open woodland and

wetland. So when the savanna began to disappear,

they did too. In 1973, there were only about 35 left,

all concentrated in one small corner of the state.

Through the Endangered Species Act, almost 20,000 acres of wildlife

refuge was established for the cranes.

Ongoing conservation efforts have seen these majestic birds begin to recover.

Today, there are more than 150 Mississippi San Hill cranes,

and the sight of them grazing along bayous and fields

...