Crane Ranch - 4-16-23 - 4-22-23

Sunday was a another fun day. Rebecca, Tom, and Barney came by for a visit.  This afternoon, we took Tom and Rebecca on a tour of the refuge.  They seemed amazed at how much prettier it is with all the blooms.

On our way into the South Gautier Unit, Eagle Eye spotted a Crane Nest.  Looks like Mean Momma has renested!

We got quite the show near the Beasley Eagle nest.  The 2 youngsters and one of the parents were perched in trees near the road.  Two more adult Eagles came flying in, one of them had dinner in his talons.  The one carrying the fish dropped it and started chasing off the other adult.  A spectacular show.

While we were out and about, we checked out several of the pretty plant bogs and saw bunches of cranes, especially in the North Gautier Unit.

We had an awesome time on our 4 hour refuge tour.

Sunday Pics:

Monday we did a little bit of piddling and walking around getting a few pictures along the way.

We heard the elusive sound of the cranes, and went and sat on the back porch of the visitor center.  There were 10 of the HQ Gang hanging out in the savanna. 

 

A couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers took advantage of no cranes at the feeder and helped themselves to the yellow gold.

Not long after, 4 of the gang came to eat at the feeder.  One of the Red-headed Woodpeckers came back for more corn, but the Gang was not going to have it.  They all started calling until the Red-Head left.  These cranes aren't into sharing.

Monday Pics:

Tuesday morning, we helped the Interns place traps in the DGF tanks.  While we were putting them in, we caught 3 DGF metamorphs.

 

We took a ride to Grand Bay Shop and mowed, then loaded up the mower on a trailer and brought it back to the fire center.  That lawn mower is a sweet ride compared to the other mowers we have.

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday, we mowed HQ yard and Crane Lane, at least the parts that weren't too wet.  We both almost got stuck a few times.

Lauren stopped mowing to help Rob, from SELA, and Robin deliver a marsh master to the Ocean Springs Unit that was needed for the prescribed burn.  

We helped the Interns check the DGF tanks and collected 5 meta morphs.  We processed and tagged 15 DGF's and released them at sunset. 

Wednesday Pics: 

Thursday, we checked on Mean Momma's crane nest in Firetower Pond.  It had been predated.  Dang it.  

On a happy note, we got to see the Beasley Brothers still hanging around their nesting area.

The Pileated Woodpecker nest on the Dees Trail is still active.  Hopefully we will see the youngsters soon.

We checked the DGF tanks while Theresa and Jake attended a symposium in Jackson.  We collected 4 meta morphs. 

The afternoon was spent sitting around enjoying nature at Camp Crane.

Thursday Pics:

Friday, we got our stuff loaded up for tomorrow's Ocean Springs Earth Day event.  We helped Jake and Theresa check the DGF tanks and collected 23 meta morphs.  We went with Jake and released them on this cloudy afternoon.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, we had 196 people stop by our booth at the Ocean Springs Earth Day event.  It was a fun day of talking to folks about our favorite refuge.

Saturday Pics:

Crane Ranch - 4-9-23 - 4-15-23

The Easter cold snap was right on cue.  We started out Sunday morning with clouds, wind, and the temps in the 50's.  After lounging around for a bit, we went on an Orchid Safari in the Ocean Springs Unit.  We were hoping to find a new location for the Calopogon multiforus.  We found a lot of pretties, but not the ones we were focusing on.

We were definitely in a wet pine savanna, which is not the habitat for these rare beauties.  We sloshed around until we found higher ground, but never found any of the Imperiled Orchids we were looking for.  Oh well, we got a good workout and a lot of photo ops of other pretties along the way.

We saw a bunch of cranes, a Northern Harrier, deer, and a couple of turkeys.  That ole' Gobbler strutted his stuff!

We made a stop at the Gautier Pen on the way back in the hopes of getting a good photo op of the chick.  We saw the family across the way, but a little too far off for a good photo.

While we were hanging in the blind waiting for the Jabba family to get closer, we saw all kinds of birds, including our first of the year Red-headed Woodpecker.

 

We made it back to Camp Crane and in for the night.  This tromping around in the wet pine savanna in the cold wind has these two old coots tired.

Sunday Pics:

I was awakened by the elusive unison call of the sandhill cranes on Monday morning around 6:30 am.  I went back to sleep with a smile on my face, then woke up at 8 am.  After I got up, I realized Lauren slept until 7:30 am.  Both of us must have needed extra rest after our tromping around in the wet pine savanna yesterday.

We made a Wally World run then got to work, washing the mud off the visitor services truck and attempting to repair the lawnmower.  The truck looks much better.  The lawnmower will need more parts before it can be repaired.  

We waited for last years cohorts to leave the HQ feeder so we could check it.  When they left, there was only a few pieces of corn left.  We cleaned and refilled the feeder, they were back with their friends in just a bit.  These cranes love that yellow gold.

We found a few more new blooms of the season when we walked the Dees Trail.  Spring is definitely here!

While resting at Camp Crane, we watched a male and female Ruby-throated hummingbird at the feeder, (along with a few bees).  It is not often that we see 2 of them perched at the feeder together.  Maybe there will be babies before long.

Monday Pics:

Tuesday, we walked around with Robin, Jackie, and Bill, the new maintenance guy, and showed them around Camp Crane and the Fire Center.  We took Bill on a tour of Grand Bay Shop and the Gautier Units.  We just happened to see a few cranes while we were out and about.

This afternoon, we met Anita at Island View for a couple of nights.  We walked to Kelly's Bar and Grill and had tasty appetizers for our meal.  We gambled for a bit then returned to our adjoining rooms.  These adjoining rooms are about as good as a suite.

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday, after our good buffet breakfast, Anita, Lauren, and I went riding.  We rode to Silver Slipper then back to Jones Park. It has been a long time since we have been shore birding.

We saw all kinds of cool birds while we were out and about.

We made another donation to the casino before grabbing our grub and going to the room for the night.

Wednesday Pics:  

Thursday morning, I had $150 of free play on my account.  I tied with 6 other people in the Old Folks slot tournament yesterday.  I will be back in a few weeks and try my luck with that.

We weren't scheduled for the visitor center until afternoon.  We were back and working by 10 a.m.  We spent the day piddling around and talking to a few folks that stopped by.  It was a no picture taking kind of day.

Friday, we helped Theresa place an artificial nest platform in the North Gautier Unit in the hopes that Thriller and Adelaide would use it.  Their first nest of the season had been predated and it was time for them to renest.  We put on our hip waders and checked the area for their new nest.  We found where they were starting a new nest, so we placed that nest on the top of the platform.  It is a long shot, but we are  hoping they will use this nest due to the history of flooding in the area.  It would have been great to have been able to watch them when they saw the nest contraption.

When we returned to HQ, Scott asked us to go with them and check the Martin's artificial nest platform that we had placed a few weeks ago.  We ditched the hip waders for our rubber boots.  They had not used the platform, so we searched over an hour looking for their nest.  We were in the deep of the swamp looking for the nest, with water going over the top of our boots on a regular basis.  We did see a crane leave from the drain, but never found the nest.  Dang it!

We also found a fishing pole that someone had left on the side of the road when we entered the unit.  They won't be using that fishing pole anymore. 

While we were nest searching, we came upon a crane nest marker.  It was a pipe with a dog tag that had the year and nest number stamped on it.  Things sure have changed in the last 20 years.

We returned to HQ and got some pictures of the HQ Gang feasting on their corn and pictures of the DGF tadpoles.  It won't be long until the tadpoles turn into frogs and let loose.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, 4 of the 6 people, (2 no shows) that were scheduled for the crane safari had a nice tour.  We saw plenty of cranes and other critters.

   

The flooding rain started this afternoon.  After the rain, we had our first, (and second), Rose-breasted Grosbeak sighting at Camp Crane.  Such a pretty bird.

Saturday Pics: