Birders glimpse rare cranes

Tennessee bird enthusiasts have had the rare opportunity to see a pair of whooping cranes who’ve made the Nashville area their temporary home.

An endangered species, the birds have been observed at Bells Bend during the past couple weeks, attracting bird watchers from as far away as neighboring Kentucky, reports the Tennessean. According to Richard Connors, president of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, the birds are the result of a captive breeding program and were taught to migrate by following an ultra-light plane.

The two birds are among the 500 whooping cranes said to exist today. They originally were spotted and identified during the annual mid-December Christmas bird count put on by the National Audubon Society.