The Whooping Crane Birding in Port A Sponsors 2026 Festival
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2026 Festival Speakers And Guides

Meet the Experts

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Dr. George Archibald

In 1973, when cranes were in a perilous situation and many were on the brink of extinction, George Archibald, along with fellow graduate student Ron Sauey, established the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin as the world center for the study and preservation of cranes. His…

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Mikael Behrens

Mikael Behrens has been an avid birder and amateur naturalist since the early 1990s. He lives in Austin but is originally from Port Aransas and returns there often to help out with bird counts, lead walks, and to bird for fun. He contributes to several citizen science projects including eBird…

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Dr. Rich Beilfuss

Dr. Rich Beilfuss has served as the International Crane Foundation’s President & CEO and ex-officio member of the Board of Directors since 2010. He helped launch many of the Foundation’s signature projects and provides oversight, vision and prioritization to the International Crane…

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Andy Caven

Andy Caven has served as the Vice President of North American Programs for the International Crane Foundation since 2022, where his work focuses on conservation policy, delivery, and research regarding Whooping Cranes, Sandhill Cranes, and their habitats. His overarching goal is to bring diverse…

Andy Caven

Kathy Adams Clark

Kathy Adams Clark has been a professional nature photographer since 1995. Kathy’s photos have been published in hundreds of places including  Family Fun,, Nature's Best, New York Times, Birder's World,  and  Ranger Rick.    AAA Journey,   Texas Parks…

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Michael Forsberg

I've spent the last five years camera-in-hand exploring the natural history of whooping cranes across the continent, meeting people who love them, and discovering how these tall, magnificent, and rarest cranes are navigating our 21st-century world. In this multimedia presentation, I'll take…

Michael Forsberg

Ruth Hoyt

Ruth Hoyt is a full-time professional nature photographer, writer, public speaker, workshop leader, coach, and consultant with more than 30 years' experience teaching nature photography. She enthusiastically works with photographers from all skill levels and walks of life, including youths from…

Ruth Hoyt

Irvin Louque and Brittney Palode

Whooping Cranes are slowly returning to Louisiana's coastal and agricultural wetlands, but their recovery has been slowed by anthropogenic mortalities such as shootings. For four years, the International Crane Foundation (ICF) has been proactively engaging hunters, educating youth, and inspiring…

Irvin Louque and Brittney Palode

Dr. Alain Salvi

Dr. Alain Salvi is a biologist specializing in bird behavior. He has been president of the European Crane Working Group for 12 years. He is also president of a nonprofit nature conservation organization in France - Conservatoire d'espaces naturels de Lorraine, and treasurer for the…

Alain Salvi

Jace Tunnell

Jace Tunnell is Director of Community Engagement at the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. He is the founder of Nurdle Patrol , a citizen science project that tracks plastic pellet pollution worldwide to raise awareness and inform policy. Jace also directs and…

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Jennifer Warner

Jennifer Leigh Warner is an award-winning wildlife, landscape and conservation photographer living in Central Texas and specializing in creating meaningful images that convey a message of hope for the natural world.

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Sara Zimorski

Sara Zimorski grew up and went to school in Charlottesville, Virginia, studying biology at the University of Virginia.  She never laid eyes on a crane, or at least doesn’t remember seeing or hearing anything about them until she moved to Wisconsin to work at the International Crane…

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