I assume you’ve found the website: https://www.portaransas.org/whooping-crane-festival/

These points are important:

Winter Birding Guidelines

Applies to Trail Use October 30–April 30 (or when Whooping Cranes are present):

Nature Preserve ordinance rules always apply, including but not limited to: open sunrise to sunset; no fishing, hunting, or gathering of any natural materials; no littering; no injuring or harming wildlife; no pets.

Visitors must stay 1000 feet from Whooping Cranes. They should never be approached or disturbed. If you see Whooping Cranes within 1000 feet of the trail, please do not enter the trail.
If visitors are already on a trail and whooping cranes are within 1000 feet, they should stop, remain quiet, and observe their behavior.
If the Whooping Cranes become alert, raise their heads, and stop foraging—you are too close. Turn around if possible or wait and allow the whooping cranes to establish a safe distance before proceeding.
If the cranes do not seem bothered, you may proceed with caution. Walk slowly and remain quiet. If biking or running, walk slowly through the area.
If rules are not followed and cranes are not safe, trail closures may occur. If trail closures occur, guided walks will be available.


Amelia’s Landing is spartan but the people who run it are nice. We like Finn’s Grill and Icehouse (https://finsgrillandicehouse.com/) and Irie’s (https://iriesislandfood.com/) for food. The U of Texas Marine Science Institute is good.

The wait for the ferry between Port A and Aransas Pass can be up to an hour during rush times. You can access waiting times and other information:

https://www.txdot.gov/content/txdot/en/driver/travel/ferry-schedules.html

Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center is good — easy access — and run by the city”

https://www.portaransas.org/things-to-do/nature-and-parks/leonabelle-turnbull-birding-center/

You’ll need either a car or to rent a golf cart for getting around Port A. I’d call ahead since the festival is a big deal. I found the photo seminar we attended to be good, with the expert seminar leader's photos to be astounding.

We didn’t do the boat trip and if I go again, I would.

These are definitely not the best, but one must understand the circumstances under which they were taken. Here is the story:

I was on holiday over Christmas. My wife suggested that we go for a ride in the country. So, obviously I had to grab my camera (Sony A77ll) and a couple of lenses; One of which is a Tamron sp 150-600. during the drive I had a much smaller lens attached. My wife asked me why I am bringing that monster lens? My response was, "what if we see an eagle or something?".

Well, as it happened, we were diving south on Missouri hwy 13 just south of Warrensburg, Missouri when we rounded a curve. Sure enough, A Golden Eagle was resting on a branch. The only place to pull over was about 800 feet away. If that wasn't bad enough, knowing that this bird was not going to stick around very long, I had to change lenses real fast!

That part worked. He was still there But there was a barbed wire fence that may or may not be in the way. In my favor was that I was able to rest that heavy lens on the car door since I dare not open the door. I focused quickly but I was not all happy with the size of the image. Ah, ha! I have a built in teleconverter. Cool. I had to put the camera in jpeg mode (that part does not bother me) in order to make the teleconverter active. I put it in 2x and fired away. Here are 4 of them.