While eating breakfast Sunday morning, we heard a couple of Cranes calling as they flew over the camper heading to the HQ Savanna. A looksee at the pen revealed an 8 Sandhill Crane congregation. A great way to start the week.
We made a quick trip home and was back in time to do a little bit of tweaking to the Doughboy Deer Buster Prototypes.
We went to the South Gautier Unit to check on the Eaglets. As we were driving down Beasley, we saw the parent Eagle fly in with a big fish. Both Eaglets and both parents enjoyed their Sunday dinner.
While we were out and about, we saw GREG and 15 Sandhill Cranes.
When we returned, the HQ Crew made their way to the backyard feeder. We sat on the back porch and took pictures as the Red Crowns walked through the Toothache Grass. This never gets old!
We met the alarm guys at the VC Monday morning. We were also greeted with 8 Sandhill Cranes foraging at the backyard feeder. It is a good thing we refilled the feeder on Friday.
While waiting on the alarm guys to get their job done, Lauren chased a Brown Thrasher singing with an acorn in his mouth. A very talented dude.
After the alarm guys left, we went to the wash rack with the van to get some of the green off. The birds have been getting rid of their berry poop on the driver side. A lot of spraying and scrubbing and we can see out the drivers side window.
We had a brief visit with Carol and Charlie at lunch, then assisted the Interns with putting plankton in the frog tanks. It takes longer to get everything set up than it does to put the plankton in.
We had a sit outside and grilling afternoon, then called it an early day. Tomorrow is another big event. The Eaglets will be banded.
Tuesday was Eaglet Banding Day. Mississippi Power and Mississippi State coordinated the effort with the refuge, which was very organized. The Terex was ready and waiting when we got to Beasley Road. We were surprised that WLOX & WXXV reporters were there.
One of the parent Eagles stayed nearby in a tree until the Terex headed to the nest. It flew around above for a bit, then left as the machine got close to the tree.
Both Eaglets were placed in a net then rode down in the bucket. I have always stayed back and not got into the hoopla. Not today. I held one of the youngsters. I could feel both of our hearts beating. I am not sure if my heart or the Eaglet's heart was beating the fastest. When Jared took off the hood, I was holding my breath. I exhaled and smiled after I realized he was not going to eat me alive. It is so cool to be holding this gorgeous creature. This is definitely a highlight of volunteering here at the Sandhill Crane Refuge!!
He is sporting a band with 7A. His sister is sporting 7Z on her leg and has a backpack GPS tracker . After Mississippi State got the job done, the Eaglets were safely returned to their nest.
7A did not appreciate getting his picture taken when placed back in the nest. He was nipping toward Adrian with that big beak. He'd had enough.
The Eaglets will now be able to be identified by their unique bands. Eaglet 7Z will be tracked by GPS when her tracker dings a cell tower. Technology in nature is so cool!
Wednesday, is Tadpole Day! We accompanied Scott, Hefan, and Madison to the Harrison Experimental Forest and picked up DGF Tadpoles, or rather sucked up tadpoles. We used turkey basters to suck up the tiny tadpoles then placed them in transport containers. 750 Tadpoles later, we were out of there.
We went through the acclimation process and released them in the DGF Tanks. Then we prepared the aquarium for 5 of the tadpoles to live in until they morph. There has been an eventful week so far.
Thursday, there was all kind of Crane Hoopla going on at the backyard of HQ. There was an injured Unbanded Crane in the backyard of HQ along with the HQ5. The HQ5 were not happy that this intruder was here. A little bit later, there were 7 Cranes in the backyard, and the crippled Crane was near the bunkhouse.
We met Janet at the South Gautier Unit for a Sphagnum Moss expedition. She found several species that she will analyze under a microscope and id. I have to say, I will now be watching for Sphagnum Moss when I am out and about. We also found quite a few beauties blooming.
We got back just in time to watch the Fire Team cut down the invasive Crepe Myrtles. The Crepe Myrtles were pretty, but not good for a native plant garden.
We made another attempt to see Eaglets at the G11 nest. No Eagles in sight. I believe it is another empty nest syndrome.
We did a few chores at the VC then sat by the campfire for a bit. The HQ5 and the Crippled Crane flew over heading for their roost. They must have settled their dispute.
We got some errands taken care of Friday morning. This afternoon, we got a few chores done around the VC. We finally had time to walk the Dees Trail, finding some pretties along the way.
We went to the Crane Circus and were not disappointed. We saw over 20 Cranes, including Banana, Coconut, and the Milhouse Family. There were 8 Cranes hanging at the Brown's Crop Unit. We stopped and watched from a distance, until they decided we were too close and flew away.
The Beasley Eaglets were standing proud in the nest along with one of the parents. The 2 Eaglets were both facing the road. Usually, one of them is hid behind the tree. The Parent was a little harder to get a picture of, with a limb being in the way.
We got back and had a nice campfire with on and off light showers. We didn't let the rain put a damper on our evening. We sat under an umbrella by the fire.
Saturday was a cold, windy day. After staying inside for most of the day, we bundled up and went outside. We found Crip at the edge of the HQ savanna. He was drinking water and eating corn. His foot looked a bit less swollen today than a couple of days ago. Fingers crossed that he survives.
After someone walked down the road with their dog, he flew toward the pond. We went inside the VC and pulled up a couple of chairs and bird watched through the back door. We saw an Immature Eagle and and Osprey.
After a bit, we went back to the camper until we heard the call of the Cranes. Crip had moved to the parking lot and the HQ5 were foraging in the backyard. A little later, they were all foraging together at the corner of the building and Crane Lane until roost time.
