Today is the last day that Lauren and I will be the same age, 58 yrs old. It is ironic, that this is the 58th week of our Volunteer Gig!
We spent the day hiking at Fountainebleu Trail, hiking the CL Dees Trail, and checking out Gulf Shores National Seashore. We saw some really cool plants, butterflies, alligators, bullfrogs, lizards,and birds today. We also saw our first hatching of Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers.
The Free Birds were hanging in the HQ savanna late afternoon.
Monday
Happy Birthday Lauren!! Anita met us at Island View where she managed to get us a suite for Lauren's birthday.. Nothing like the view from the room overlooking the gulf.
We had plenty of adult beverages, gambled a lot, ate good, and had a great time. And we didn't get escorted to the suite by security like we did the last time we had a birthday suite!
Tuesday
We lounged around enjoying our great view this morning. Watching people, birds, and dauphins. We ate breakfast, donated some more money to the Island View bank, and took our time driving back along the beach looking at birds.
Ferny Kat was watching for us from the dining table when we drove up. She missed us enough that she let me pick her up and pet her.
We got our stuff packed for our event at Crosby Arboretum on Thursday, washed clothes, and cleaned up Amber.
Ferny Kat stayed close to us when we were sitting outside this afternoon. It's unusual for her to stay closer to us than the bird feeders. She crawled in Lauren's lap and sat with him, until I got up to get her picture, then stole my chair.
The Free Birds were in the back lawn of HQ foraging late afternoon.
Wednesday
Angie, Rose, Shannon, Tyler, Lauren and I dismantled the temporary pen at the VC headquarters in preparation for the prescribed burn next month. It was not nearly as labor intensive as the last 2 times. Experience pays off.
I did wind up, with roost pond water over my rubber boots, and almost slipped in the pond, but I made it without a splash. WHEW!
We had close encounters of a Ribbon Snake and Tadpoles. We found our first Pale Grass Orchid of the spring.
Thursday
We left at 6 am headed to Crosby Arboretum for the Nature Discovery Day. We had over 200 kids check out our Crane Booth. They enjoyed making bracelets and checking out the animal pelts. We had a few that were interested in the telemetry tracker.
We stopped at the Red Zone in Diamondhead for a great burger and an overstuffed baked potato with shrimp. We were overstuffed when we left.
The Free Birds prefer to roost under the night lights at the VC instead of the roost pond. So, Biology moved the feeder to the back lawn of the VC. They were stuffing themselves with corn right before dark.
Friday
We always think that the group we had on the last Crane Tour was the best, then we go on another tour and have another fantastic group of people.
It was a slow day for the Crane Whisperers. We saw plenty of birds and plants, everyone had a great time enjoying the beautiful savanna, but the Sandhill Cranes sightings were scarce.
We stopped for a college student to take pictures of plants for his assignment. All 7 tourist got out of the van. Before you knew it, everyone was out in the savanna, admiring the diverse plant life. I knew then, this was not going to be a 2 hour tour.
It took us 2 hours to finally see a Mississippi Sandhill Crane way off in the savanna when we got to the South Gautier Unit. After placing the spotting scope for everyone to view, the solo Sandhill Crane turned into 3 Sandhill Cranes. It was a great show of the 3 flying away, with the sound of their elusive call. We may have only seen 3 Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, but it was a grand performance.
The Fire Center had a prescribed burn off Beasley Road, so we avoided that area. We set up the spotting scope and saw Georgie in the Eagle Nest on Ben Williams Rd. On our way back, we finally saw Goober perched on a limb behind the nest.
After 4 hours, (or so), we made it back to the VC. We were late for the Volunteer Appreciation Week luncheon of pizza and desert. We found out one of our tourist was here celebrating his 90th birthday, so we shared our cake, and sang him Happy Birthday.
We took pizza home and heated it up on the grill and enjoyed the view at Camp Refuge. It was a great day and a great way to celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week!
A late afternoon Free Bird check found the 3 in the back yard settling in for the night.
Saturday
The 2 girl Free Birds were foraging at the back lawn when we went to work today. They flew off when a car stopped to look at them.
Lauren and I set up and dismantled the exhibit at the Gautier Earth Day celebration. Carol and Melissa manned the exhibit.
We had a couple of visitors joined us on our quest to take pictures of the prescribed burn recovery progress in the South Gautier Unit this afternoon.
The youngster of the two was really into nature. It is fun to interact with a child with this much enthusiasm for nature.
Goober and Georgie were both in the nest. Goober flew out while Georgie watched. Goober was pretty awkward flying in this 20 mile an hour or so winds. It was so much fun to watch.
One of the parents was nearby in their favorite perch watching as well.
The kid and his uncle were mesmerized by the plant diversity of the wet pine savanna. It seems to have that effect on a lot of people.
We have been here over a year, and found something today that we had never seen in all this time. A Mississippi Sandhill Crane nest with 2 eggs sitting in it.
We went out to eat with Carol and Charley then went to Pat's church program that she has been working on for the last few months. It was a great performance with very talented singers/actors.
Week of pictures:
