12-29-19 - 1-4-20 Volunteer Gig II

Sunday, we waited for the rain to clear then headed out for a refuge tour.  We saw 25 Sandhill Cranes.  We also saw both eagles sitting in their nest.  Late afternoon, we heard the cranes at the VC.  NV11, 337, Dikkop, and Auk were gathered at the back of the VC and flew off together around roost time.  Our total sandhill sightings today are 29.

Monday, what a day! Lauren had a Crane Tour at 10 am with 8 people and had 18 Sandhill Crane sightings.  I manned the VC.  We had a total of 96 visitors today.  Whew!!  I had no time to pout about not being able to go on the Crane Tour.  A lot more people showed up and walked the Dees Trail after we closed.

Lauren saw our buddies Coconut and Banana on Valentine Road today.

Tuesday, the visitation was down today.  We only had 73 people visit!! We had a retired Fish and Wildlife Manager and his wife visit today and yesterday who were from Idaho.  He told us the highlight of their trip was the visit to our refuge.  Pretty awesome kudos!!  We thought things were going to be slow after 2 pm, so Lauren went to blow leaves at Camp Crane.  Shortly after he left, I had 16 people walk into the VC.  All for that thought.

Wednesday, Happy New Year!!  We started the day with a hike on the Dees Trail then hiked Crane Lane, did a work out at the Fire Center, and hiked back.  We found Sunbonnets and a few sunflowers in bloom along the Crane Lane hike.  The bloom chasing has begun!

When we went into the VC this morning, NV11, 337, Auk, and Dikkop were on the back porch.  No spotting scope required.  When Lauren got closer to get a picture of Auk, Dikkop curiously walked toward him.  These crazy birds!!

After eating our black eyed peas and cabbage casserole for lunch, we met Angie for a hike at Fontainebleu Trail.  It is the first time we have hiked the trail since we started Gig II. They did a really great job adding another loop on the trail.

After the hike, went to Woody's and enjoyed our meal and adult beverages.

Thursday, we were off on this rainy day.  We decided to pick up garbage at the entrances of the Fontainebleu Unit and North and South Gautier Units.  We also picked up garbage at the Fontainebleu Trailhead.  We covered for Carol and Charley to go home early at the VC.  We were entertained by Auk and Dikkop rub a dub, dub, playing in their tub.

Friday, we covered the VC for Carol and Charley on this rainy day. We were greeted by Auk, Dikkop, NV11, and 337 at the back door when we opened the VC.  NV11 and 337 would chase and pull the youngsters feathers.  The youngsters stayed cornered at the back door most of the day allowing us to admire their beauty up close and personal.

Auk has the most beautiful eyes.

They sounded like they were knocking on the door at times when they were snacking on bugs on the doors and windows.  It is unfortunate that only 9 people came by for a visit.

The Crane Whisperers started the first tour of the year on Saturday with a breaking number of sightings on our 8 am tour with 47 Sightings.  The afternoon tour was not as impressive with only 9 sightings.  The Bald Eagles are still sitting on their nest.

Pictures:

12-22-19 - 12-28-19 - Volunteer Gig II

Everyone is gone for the holidays at Camp Crane and the Bunk House except us. We finally took time to do laundry on this cloudy Sunday.  We were entertained by the Ms. Sandhill Cranes hanging near HQ. We walked the Dees Trail and saw lots of birds.  Late afternoon, we sat by the campfire.

Lauren did a Crane Tour on Monday and I manned the VC.  The tour was loaded with 10 tourist that saw 20 Ms. Sandhill Cranes.  We had quite a few folks stop by for a visit today.  Auk, Dikkop, NV11, & 337 hung around the VC for most of the day.  Out of the 33 visitors that stopped by, 29 were able to see Sandhill Cranes.  Loon has not been seen with Auk and Dikkop for a couple of days.
                         

We were off for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We hung around Camp Crane for Christmas Eve.  We saw plenty of birds on our leisurely walk on the Dees Trail.  We also saw our first Southern Coastal Violet of the season.  We wrapped up the day with a nice campfire.

We toured the refuge on Christmas Day.  We went with Angie in the morning to the North and South Gautier Unit.  After lunch, Lauren and I went to the Ocean Springs Unit.  We saw a total of 38 Sandhill Cranes and a lot of other bird species.  A great way to spend the day.  We had another nice campfire after we returned.

Thursday, we went birding at LaFrance Camp area then met Anita at Hollywood Casino for the night.  We all had free buffets and ate too much.  It didn't take long to lose our money and get back to our room.  On a sad note, Loon is confirmed to be a mortality and is somewhere in the marsh across from the boat dock at Camp Crane. 

Friday, we did shore birding then saw a few Sandhill Cranes on the way back to Camp Crane from the casino.  We sat outside with Ferny Kat most of the evening.  We had a new experience at Camp Crane tonight when the lights went out.  Luckily, the electricity was not out for very long.

Saturday, Lauren and I had a Crane Tour with 8 people.  We saw 16 Sandhill Cranes.  Search and Rescue Canine training went on for most of the morning.  We had a total of 82 visitors at the VC today.  Quite a busy day.

Pictures:

12-15-19 - 12-21-19 - Volunteer Gig II

We started the week with a bang.  After sitting by the fire pit, cooking breakfast outside, and watching Ferny Kat prowl, Anita, Lauren, and I went on a 4 hour Nature Chaser Tour on the refuge.  We saw lots of pretty birds and plenty of Ms. Sandhill Cranes.

We were stopped for almost an hour watching 3 of the 6 recently released cranes first walking away from us on Brown's Trail then turning around and walking toward us.  Their gait got Anita and I singing, Hey Hey We're The Monkeys.  We wonder where the other 3 are???

We saw a total of 10 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, the Eagles nesting, an Armadillo, several other species of birds, and Nemesis.

Late afternoon, we continued enjoying the day with a nice campfire.

Monday morning, we found out Merlin, one of the captive cranes didn't make it.  A coyote mortality.  We worked the VC with Judy and Terry.  Lauren and I had an 11 am tour with 3 tourist.  A very intriguing 90 year old woman, her daughter, and her son-in-law.  We only saw 2 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, Dougie and his mate, but what a show.  Dougie and his partner flapped their wings, then Dougie showed off his graceful dancing skills.  Such a beautiful sight.

The Eagles are still sitting on both nest.  We finally saw the other parent Eagle sitting in his favorite dead tree near the nest at Ben Williams crop unit.  We also saw 3 juvenile eagles in the South Gautier Unit.

Tuesday we worked the VC with Judy and Terry.  We assisted biology with the release of the captive reared cranes at the HQ savanna, along with staff from Fire, Bon Secour, and the National Forest.  The 3 captive reared walked out and flew right over the VC HQ.  It was another fabulous release.  Catherine and Danny got quite a show watching from the blind at the VC.

Wednesday Lauren did a tour while I covered the VC.  He only had 1 person on the tour and they saw 5 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, and of course the Eagles nesting.

Thursday, we weren't scheduled for the VC.  We walked the Dees Trail and took brochures to the Ms. Welcome Center.

Friday, we got news of another mortality, Pipit. He may have been a victim of a Great Horned Owl.
We assisted biology with the Christmas Bird Count.  We tromped around in the wet pine savannas flushing grass birds then drove the refuge roads looking for them.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of exercise.  If we hung with biology on a regular basis, we would be in much better shape.

I found a cool Black Racer snake shed.  There was a time I would have screamed and run.  Today I picked it up and gave it to Carol for use at the VC.

We got the van stuck when we turned around at the Spray Fields, (and Lauren was not driving).  After using our MacGyver skills, we were able to get the van out of the bog and continued with our count.

Friday night we heard a weird chirping as we were sitting around the campfire.  It was the 3 recently released flying over the bayou.  We heard 2 of them splash in the bayou, then rustling around in the thicket.  After a few minutes, 2 of the 3 flew back the way they came.  These crazy birds.

Saturday, we wrapped up the week going to Erica's house for an awesome Williams Christmas get together.

Pictures:

HQ Release Pictures: