A biologist on Friday spotted the first whooping crane of the fall migration.

Gregg Knutsen, who is the state coordinator for whooping crane information and biologist at Long Lake Refuge, spotted the lone bird around 11 a.m. in a wetland in the southwest corner of the refuge, located near Moffit.

"We're on the front edge of the whooping crane migration," Knutsen said.

Up to 240 of the endangered species could make the fall migration south, Knutsen estimated, about 30 more than last fall.

Knutsen described the bird he saw as a nonbreeding sub-adult more than 1 year old.

He said it might stay in the area up to three or four days, waiting for a favorable wind to continue its journey to Aransas National Wildlife Reserve on Texas' Gulf Coast.

Knutsen was in contact with Texas wildlife officials, and the whooping cranes' habitat was unaffected by Hurricane Rita.

With the nonresident hunters' waterfowl season opening today in North Dakota, he cautioned folks to be on alert for the giant white birds with black-tipped wings.

Knutsen said whooping cranes are sometimes confused with sandhill cranes and snow geese.

Knutsen reminds birders in search of whoopers to bring their binoculars. The rare birds need their space.

Anyone who spots a whooping crane anywhere is asked to contact Knutsen at 387-4397 or the North Dakota Game and Fish Department at 328-6300.

"The whooping cranes we're aware of are the easiest to protect," Knutsen said.

That's why wildlife officials rely on reports from hunters and birders to help track the birds.

(Tribune staff writer Richard Hinton contributed to this report.)