Whooping cranes

This large, graceful sculpture of whooping cranes by Kent Ullberg, entitled Rites of Spring (1993), sits on the corner of Monument and Cascade, just north of the historic Cascade Park Apartments. It's been there for a decade and a half and yet I've never really taken the time to photograph it, even though my studio was located across the street from it for years. Yesterday I finally made a point of it. The small placard affixed to the base reads:

"Saved from the brink of extinction, the whooping crane symbolizes the global contemporary concern with conservation. Colorado is on the western edge of their flyway to breeding grounds in Canada. Wildlife sculptor Kent Ullberg's visual statement is a reminder of environmental concerns as well as the beauty of nature itself."

I never knew that whooping cranes ever even came close to Colorado. You learn something new every day!