We had a fabulous start to the week on Sunday morning. RH20 and his buddies were dancing at HQ.
We had a little more bird action when we walked the Dees Trail.
We collected the phenology data at the Fontainebleau Trail, enjoying the pretties along the way.
We checked to see if the Eagles were nesting at the South Gautier Unit. No sign of them around the nests. Although we did see an immature eagle in a tree and a mature eagle soaring above the savanna.
We found quite a few cranes, including Aunt Alice and friends.
An American Kestrel and a Loggerhead Shrike were along a few of the species we spotted along the way.
We took our stroll on Crane Lane this afternoon, watching a few birds and butterflies along the way.
While sitting around the table, we saw a very strange, Wheel Bug on our grill.
We saw 4 Cranes fly down the bayou while sitting around our campfire this evening. What a way to wrap up the day.
We had another good start to the day Monday. We heard the elusive calling, went outside to see what was going on, and had 2 Cranes fly right over our head. Lauren was in his flip flops with cold feet. I on the other hand, had warm feet, sporting around the parking area with my slippers on. I looked like I was dressed for a Walmart shopping trip. Later we found out that there were 10 Cranes at HQ this morning.
We were greeted by our favorites, Banana and Coconut on our way to walk the trail. They were admired all day as they hung around HQ. We definitely needed our Crane Caution signs today with them walking on Crane Lane. Especially, when Banana was doing her yoga stretch.
Late afternoon, we had a campfire and a burger while Ferny Kat guarded the bird feeder.
Tuesday, was the day. The Audubon Cranes arrived to the acclimation pen. A couple hours later, we have 6 newbies added to the elusive collection. After a couple of weeks, they will be let loose.
It was an amazing time, watching the individual personalities of the cranes during the banding process.
There was Thunder, who was the whiniest after being released.
There was Mist, who was the most uncoordinated when released.
There was Squall, who had the most unique color of eyes.
There was Twister, who was a nibbler, he is a descendant of the Little German pair.
There was Tsunami, who was the most mischievous, pulling on Madison's pony tail and pecking her in the back.
There was Quick Sand, who was the most aggressive, drawing blood when he bit Scott's arm.
We had a leisurely day on Wednesday, until the cranes arrived from White Oak around 3:30 pm. We had quite the challenge of carrying the 5 of them out to the Fontainebleau Pen. It was about twice as far to carry them here than at the Headquarters pen. It was also a harder walk through the mud, but at least it hadn't rained for a few days.
These Cranes were not named, (as of yet), but again they all had their own personalities.
Crane 2107, leisurely strolled away when released.
Crane 2108, flew as far away from us as it could after being released.
Crane 2109, ran away when released.
Crane 2110, had the most graceful wing flaps when released.
Crane 2111, was the feistiest. It did not want any part of being hooded, grabbing it and holding it in his beak.
We had a nice view of the sunset from the FB pen.
We were really slow getting started Thursday. We had signed up for the BioBlitz at Ward Bayou Management Area that was from 9 am till 3 pm. We got there about noonish. The last couple of days have been very rewarding, but very tiring.
We walked on one of the roads toward the river seeing all kind of cool plants and stuff. When we got to a muddy spot on the road, I came up with this idea that walking around it through the woods would not be as muddy. Needless to say, when we came back, we walked on the road.
We got a few cool iNaturalist observations on this 3 hour nature journey.
Friday, was another slow day. We were greeted by Banana and Coconut as we took a leisurely 2 mile stroll along the Dees Trail and Crane Lane. It is so great when they make an appearance.
The afternoon, we enjoyed our campfire, while being distracted by the calls of 337, NV11, Nana, and Coco and seeing a couple of Bald Eagles out in the HQ savanna. Life is good!
It was a Crane and Coffee kind of Saturday morning. When we got in the HQ blind at 7 am, the Captive Reared Cranes had begun to stir in the acclimation pen.
After about 30 minutes, 2 Unbanded Cranes came by to visit them. After pacing around the pen for a bit, (looking like they were hunting a way in to eat at their feeder), they flew to the feeder at the blind. They were a little wary of eating out of the feeder, so they foraged in the back yard, until NV11 and 337 flew in and out of there they went.
Shortly after, our favorites, Banana and Coconut flew in. NV11 let them know this feeder was their domain. Nana and Coco stayed in and around the parking area, foraging in the grass and eating bugs in the grill of the Visitor Center SUV.
In between our admiration of the Cranes, we watched an American Kestrel, several Northern Flickers and Eastern Meadowlarks.
After a couple of hours, all the cranes were walking around in the parking lot, giving us a chance to get out of the blind. We were definitely ready to get home and warm up.
We spent quite a few hours processing our photos from this morning. We took a Dees Trail stroll and a short walk on Crane Lane this afternoon. Nana and Coco were still hanging around Crane Lane, allowing good photo opts for us and the visitors.
When we got back to camp, Ferny Kat was ready for some outdoor time. After about an hour, she beat us to the door to get inside out of this cold wind.
