MSCNWR - 8-15-21 - 8-21-21

 We got a little bit of work in during our ride thru the North and South Gautier Units Sunday morning.   We had 21 Sandhill Crane sightings in the North Unit.  

We also saw the Great Blue Heron youngsters standing tall in their nest.  The nest is looking way too small for these beauties.

An afternoon stroll was very pleasing along the Dees Trail, except of course, for the heat.  The pollinators were out again enjoying all the blooms.

Sunday Pics:

Monday morning was spent getting the mowing done.  The afternoon was another gorgeous trail walk along the Dees Trail.  We saw a couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers, lots of Pine Warblers, Nuthatches, Mourning Doves, and a few other critters along the way.

The Crane Gang flew right over our camper on the way to the HQ feeder for their afternoon snack.   It's nice when they let us know they are here.

The Hummingbirds were very competitive at the feeder this afternoon.  They are not into the sharing thing.

Monday Pics:

Tuesday morning, we got up early.  Lauren was up a little after 5, and I, amazingly, was up by 6.

We went to work a few hours later with our Billy Goat.  We took turns walking this bad boy along Crane Lane then in the parking lot.  

When we got back to Camp Crane we had a Pileated Woodpecker snacking in the Oak Trees.

We decided to take a ride to check out the Fontainebleau Trail Head.  We found more than we expected to find.  Someone left a full bag of stinky household trash at the kiosk along with a box with other trash in it.  One of the cups in the box had a bunch of red and white capsules. Their name and address was on the box. They are not the brightest in the world.  Just saying.

This afternoon, Lauren took a stroll along the Dees Trail while I stayed at camp and relaxed.

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday we got the weed-eating done in the HQ pen.  Lauren used a regular weed-eater and I used a push weed-eater.  The push weed-eater would have been a breeze except for the uneven terrain on this sunny, hot, no breeze day.  After we finished, it clouded up and we had a light shower.  It would have been nice if this would have happened while we were working in the pen.

We took a slow stroll on the Dees Trail this afternoon.

Wednesday Pics: 

Thursday morning, we had a steamy, hot walk along the Dees Trail.  The shower we had overnight only made things worse.

We decided to get a few things done in the Visitor Center where it was cool.  We tore out the paper towel/garbage bins in the restrooms, put together the standing hand sanitizer, and checked out the new paper towel holders and soap dispensers.  We don't have a clue when/if we will ever open again, but we will be ready if it happens.

Lauren took an afternoon stroll on the Dees Trail, it was too hot for me. 

Tomorrow we meet Scott and Erin at 6 am to help them catch and band the twins at Firetower.  The mother of the twins can be aggressive.  This should be quit interesting if they show up. 

Thursday Pics:

Lauren and I reported at 0600 Friday morning for field work.  We headed to the South Gautier Unit with Scott and Erin in the hopes of banding the Firetower twins.

Scott and Erin took the ground blind, Lauren and I took the stand blind.  As soon as we opened the windows, a couple of cranes were leaving their roost and flew to the south savanna.  No pictures, just memories.

A few minutes later, here they come, the Firetower family.  Mom and Dad and the twins were pretty spunky this morning after the rain.  We watched, and texted to Scott about their movements and thought they are coming to the feeder.  NOT.  

After a couple of hours, Scott was ready to abort the mission, until he found out ole Eagle Eye had them spotted about 300 yards South.  Away we went, broom and all to see if we could run them down.

When they saw us coming, Dad flew off, Mom squawked a bit, then flew.  We saw where they were and went running to the area to find the abandoned youngsters.  Another Not, finding these youngsters in a grassland savanna is as about as lucky as finding a needle in a haystack.  Maybe next time.

After our early morning adventure, we decided to go home and mow the grass.  A good decision considering it was cloudy and cooler this afternoon than it has been.

Friday Pics:

We tinkered around home Saturday morning, then decided to go back to Camp Crane this afternoon.  

There must be hundreds of butterflies, bees, moths, etc. that are still abuzz about the Ironweed.  It is awesome to take a walk among the pollinators.  I think the pollinators on the Dees Trail have put us in a trance.  

We spent the afternoon enjoying the birds at the feeder and a young Eastern Fence Lizard that hangs around on our mat that we have named Patio.

We weren't the only bird watchers at Camp Crane this afternoon.  A gorgeous Red-shouldered hawk was also checking them out.

Saturday Pics:

MSCNWR - 8-8-21 - 8-14-21

We went on a search for blooms and critters Sunday morning.  We found plenty of both.  The summer blooms are bursting with color.  There were plenty of Butterflies and Bees enjoying their beauty as well.

We saw several different species of pretty birds, including a Shrike, aka Butcher Bird.  We have not seen one of these in a while.

We had 18 Sandhill Crane sightings, including 2 different families.  Milhouse and Truffle with their 2 youngsters which have already fledged and the new Little German couple with their unfledged youngster.

It was so nice to see Banana and Coconut with their buddy, #2002.  Crane #2002 is a captive reared release from White Oaks from last year.  They allowed us as much time as we wanted to admire their beauty.

Sunday Pics:

Monday was back to workday.  On our way to Fontainebleau, we saw the previous Little German crane pair, Crane #165 with his mate foraging in the ditch near Graceland Baptist Church.  They had not been seen for a while and were considered missing.  Last week we saw cranes at a cemetery, this week we see them at a church.

  

Our first stop was the Fontainebleau pen that we are going to help rebuild for this year's crane release.  The last time we were here was when we tore down some of the old pen and hauled the poles and net out on that blistery, hot, September day.  It was too muddy to bring in equipment to haul it out.  Before it was over, all 7 of us went swimming in the crane pond to cool off.  

The fire lane was covered in Horned Bladderworts and several other carnivorous plants.

We also found some Sandbog Death Camas blooms as well. 

We stopped at the Fontainebleau Trail parking lot and picked up a little litter.  On our way back, we saw the Coca Cola crane pair under the shade tree. 

 

Crane #165 and his mate were still near the church when we came back along Gautier Vancleave Road.

The Rock Hill family were doing well.

  

We did a little bit of chores around HQ and a Dees Trail walk before the rumbling began.  We got caught up on our pictures and blog while waiting for the weather to pass.

We did a little bit of gardening then sat outside for the rest of the evening.

Monday Pics:

Tuesday, we oiled gate locks and loped limbs between thunderstorms.  We saw a couple of cranes at the Ocean Springs Unit.

We saw Crane #165 and his mate still alive and doing well near the church.  

There were several crane sightings in the North Gautier Unit.

We piled up the limbs that we cut at the Firetower gate in hopes of deterring someone's habit of making this their crapper place.  

The temperature was much more tolerable than usual.  As soon as we opened the camper door, Ferny Kat bailed out.  We thought she would get bored and go inside after a bit.  That didn't happen.  Lauren went to fuel up the truck while I Ferny Kat sat.  

After she had been out for a couple of hours, we insisted that she come inside so we could place plant markers on the trail.  She was alert as she could be until I told her she had to come inside, then she layed her head down and pretended to be asleep.  That dang cat!

We got our workday finished and sat outside with her when we got back.  The hummingbirds were fighting over the feeder while the Ferny Kat was enjoying her drips from the a/c runoff.

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday morning, we got our Dees Trail fix in before heading to Crossroads.  It was a faster stroll than usual with all the deer flies annoying us.

Wednesday Pics:

Friday evening, we made it back to Camp Crane.  We were pleasantly surprised to find another Hummingbird Clearwing along the Dees Trail.  We watched him for as long as we wanted.  A very photogenic creature.

The trail has a bumper crop of Ironweed which attracts a bumper crop of pollinators.  There were so many different types of butterflies and bees.  A gorgeous sight.

Friday Pics:

We had a late start to our trail walk on Saturday morning.  We worked on our pictures that we took yesterday of all the pollinators.  It took Lauren a lot longer than me to go through his 500 + pictures.  You know you have had a good time when you have this many pictures.

Around noon, we took a stroll along the Dees Trail.  We found plenty of pollinators on the Ironweed again.  We saw another Hummingbird Clearwing that was further off the path.

We made a second stroll along the Dees Trail this afternoon.  The pollinators were not as plentiful after the rain washed off some of the pollen, but we did see a small Hummingbird Clearwing.  We have gone from never seeing a Hummingbird Clearwing on the Dees Trail to frequent sightings.

While we were taking pictures of the Hummingbird Clearwing, a Hanging Thieves critter attempted to attack it.  The Hummingbird Clearwing flew off so fast, it left the Hanging Thieves looking pretty sullen wondering what happen to his dinner.

Saturday Pics: