Lauren managed to get the yard mowed after several delays with the rain today then washed the truck late afternoon getting it ready to travel back to the refuge tomorrow.
I was lazy today. After eating the Chinese buffet for lunch, I took a long nap while Lauren went tromping out in the Crossroads woods taking pictures of plants and stuff.
Monday
We had a nice surprise visit from Anita this morning. I was still snoozing at 8 am when she arrived. It was great drinking my morning coffee with her.
We made in back to Camp Refuge around lunch time.We gave the native plant beds at the VC a little TLC. We walked the Dees Trail late afternoon.
On our way to the trail, we found the Free Birds on the back lawn of the VC. They have painted themselves with red mud. Maybe they did it to camouflaged themselves better with the dead underbrush after the prescribed burn, or maybe they are warding off those pesky yellow flies that have been biting us today. It remains a mystery.
Tuesday
I got a 20 minute workout in this morning. I am so out of shape.
We chased some more blooms on the CL Dees Trail and hung around camp, bird watching and grilling, till time to go release the most endangered amphibian in North America, the Dusky Gopher Frog.
It was a good long hike carrying buckets, supplies, and 151 Dusky Gopher Frogs on the 3/4 mile walk to the femoral pond wearing rubber boots. We kept the frogs shaded with umbrellas to prevent them from overheating. Each one had a carefully picked out spot to be released.
We only found one Cottonmouth that needed relocation. Last time we found 6 snakes, 3 of which were cotton mouths.
We let the frogs go from their individual containers one by one. I gave them many words of encouragement for a good life. I hope they make it.
We had a 2 Crane fly over as we were releasing the frogs. On our walk back to the truck, we were serenaded by Night Hawks. It was a beautiful evening on the savanna.
Wednesday
We worked the VC today. Lauren moved Carol and Charlie's camper to a smaller spot. Carol is hoping that an offer of a large camping spot will attract our replacements. We met Carol and Charlie at Sicily's for an early dinner when we got off at 3 pm.
Thursday
Lauren mowed and I manned the VC. It was a pretty slow day with 15 visitors. 9 of them were there at the same time.
We both got iNaturalist Challenge coins for our participation in refuge Bio blitz.
Friday
We worked the VC on this hot day. What happened to spring???
Our hard work in the native plant garden is finally showing. Our Cardinal Flowers are so top heavy with blooms we had to tie them to up.
Saturday
The countdown begins. We have 5 weeks until departure from Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. We made the most of it today.
We got out and about early this morning, (at least for 2 retired folks), and headed to the refuge. We entered the South Gautier Unit and found a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret sitting on top of trees near each other. Pretty spectacular.
We were greeted by several bird species as we made our way to Beasley Road. Our crane nest that we found in Beasley Pond was lonely looking without the parent and the eggs. On a happy note, they are somewhere in the savanna.
We saw 3 Mississippi Sandhill Cranes fly from the crop unit, but no eagles this trip.
We rode every road in the unit before departing for the North Gautier Unit.
The North Gautier Unit was more than we expected. We found 2 nestlings in the Great Blue Heron nest on Valentine Pond. They were being fed by one of the parents. After the parent flew away, the two had play time. When we returned they were resting, they must have worn themselves out. We named them Valentine and Elbert, the names of the 2 ponds in this area.
We saw a Night Hawk flew up from the grass and perch on a tree limb. We always see them flying, but not sitting on a limb. When we returned, we realized it was a youngster just learning to fly. One of the parents was nearby coaching him.
We saw one Crane at Bright's Pasture which possibly means they have renested.
On a sad note, we saw the Little German couple on Rock Hill Street. Their youngster was last seen on game cam on May 17th. It was just a few days before it fledged.
It wasn't a bad Refuge Tour, we saw about 15 different species of birds including 6 Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, plenty of pretty blooms, plenty of butterflies, several snakes, and several frogs.
The icing on the cake was after 7 pm, when we checked on the Free Birds. They were foraging in the back yard of the VC getting ready for their roost. Our Ms. Sandhill Crane count is 9 for the day.
The week of pictures:
