Sunday was the beginning of the last week of 2021, and the last week of the Blog 2021. There were 9 Sandhill Cranes at the HQ pen this morning. NV11 and 337 were still the boss, harassing the younger cranes.
We had a note in the door and a phone message, that someone saw a dead Crane on the I10 Pascagoula Bridge Christmas Eve. We checked it out and found a Great Blue Heron. Sorry for the Heron, but glad it wasn't a Crane.
On our 2 1/2 mile walk we found Primrose-leaved Violets and Pineland Daisies. It is nice to see blooms in December.
We hung around Camp Crane for the rest of the day, taking a few pictures of birds. Around 5 pm we heard the call of the Cranes as they flew to their roost.
It was a great start to this Monday morning. The Unison Call was my wakeup call. The Cranes were having a good ole time at the HQ backyard.
When we returned, the HQ 5 were in the backyard.
We did a little bit of truck cleaning, picked up some packages, and found the HQ 5 again, foraging in the backyard. They definitely have made this their home.
We just piddled around getting a few chores done Tuesday. We got a few pics of critters and a new bloomer, a Centipede Grass Orchid, as we were updating the Dees Trail plant signs.
We saw 2 Gray Ghosts, aka male Northern Harriers, flying over the HQ savanna that were not in the mood for a photo session.
We have had Cranes visiting off and on today. Just before 5 pm we heard the elusive sound of the adults flying off and the peeper sound of the HQ 5 following behind. They must be headed to the North Gautier Unit where there are about 30 Cranes roosting near Valentine Pond.
It was a hot and humid Wednesday. We didn't see or hear any Cranes around HQ, but that changed when we went to pick up litter at the Gautier Units. We saw 5 Sandhill Cranes, an alligator, turtles, a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, a Deer, and her fawn, upon entering the South Gautier Unit. The turtles, Great Blue Heron, and the fawn bailed out before we got a picture.
We saw 5 more Cranes, 3 American Kestrels, a Little Blue Heron, the Nesting Beasley Eagle and another Eagle before heading to the North Gautier Unit.
While we were looking for Many-flowered Grass Pinks in the North Gautier Unit, we lost count of the number of Cranes that were near Browns Trail and Valentine Pond. The 2021 Fontainebleau & HQ cohorts were there, as well as 2020 White Oak cohorts, the Truffle family, Coco, Nana, their new friend, and a bunch of others. Needless to say, we got distracted from flower hunting.
We saw a 3 some at the Browns Trail pen and another 3 some at the firebreak before heading to the Fontainebleau Trail.
On our way back we found W28, Brioche and their friend in Brights Pasture. This hot weather has the critters moving.
It was another hot winter Thursday. We heard the loud and proud NV11 and 337 calling and found them hanging out near the HQ pen. The HQ 5 were also there, with 2 of them inside the pen.
We got a Dees Trail and a Fontainebleu Trail walk in. We saw a few critters and blooms along the way.
On our way back from FB, we took the short cut through Browns Trail. Again there were too many Cranes to count. A very entertaining way to spend the afternoon.
This afternoon, we watched the Blue Crew flying over the savanna, the HQ 5 following, and NV11 and 337 in the rear.
Right before dark, we saw and heard a couple of adult Cranes call as they were headed North with the 5 peepers in close pursuit. It must be roost time!
Lauren remarked he wanted to do something memorable on this last day of 2021. It started off with a bang when NV11 and 337 were in the back yard and the HQ 5 were near the pen.
We decided to go look for the I10 Eagle nest hoping to find an active nest. If it is active, they are hiding from us. But we did find a couple of immature Eagles and the Beasley nest occupied.
Right after we got in the gate, we saw Greg (Great Egret), Kevin (Great Blue Heron), a couple of Cranes, and a Deer. Greg and Kevin were not very photogenic today.
As we were passing Beasley Pond, a Northern Harrier got up close and personal as he was hunting for his lunch.
We made a pass through the North Gautier Unit to get another Nana and Coco fix. They didn't disappoint. They made a bee line to the feeder once all the other cranes flushed.
We found American Robins and Cedar Waxwings, in the slough past Browns Trail, snacking on Yaupon Berries. We haven't seen these in a while.
We were greeted by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Red-bellied Woodpecker when we returned to Camp Crane.
This afternoon, the peeping 5 came right over the camper heading to the backyard feeder when NV11 and 337 gave out a stern call which deterred their destination. A little while later, NV11 and 337 flew over the camper with their loud and proud call on their way to roost for the night. The Crane activity over our camper is better than any fireworks we have ever watched.
We are keeping up with our stats for the Christmas Bird Count Week for the refuge. We saw 15 species on the South Gautier Unit, 15 species on the North Gautier Unit, and 14 species around HQ. All in all we saw 29 different species today.
