Officials at the Quivira Wildlife Refuge say a total of six Whooping Cranes were confirmed at Quivira Wednesday morning,

One adult was seen with a large flock of 20,000 sandhill cranes at 8:00 a-m, in the southwest corner of Big Salt Marsh, and flew west with a small group of them shortly after. A group of 5 whoopers, 4 adults and 1 banded or juvenile were observed in North Lake at 8:15 a-m, and were still present at 8:30 a-m.

Duck numbers and diversity have skyrocketed in the last week since the snow, with over 20,000 on the Refuge. Ducks are being observed at both Big and Little Salt Marsh, as well as the flats north of NE 170th Street in Stafford County and North Lake.