♬Happy 9 Month Anniversary of our Voluntary Gig♬
We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Graveline Beach wearing shorts on this December day. The higher tide resulted in a lot less beach for us and the shorebirds to walk on than the last time we were here.
The moment we got out of the jeep, we had a Bald Eagle and a Osprey fly over.
It was very relaxing listening to the waves crash as we walked the 3/4 mile to the bayou.
After we returned to the jeep,we pulled into a vacant lot and watched dolphins and pelicans while eating our lunch.
We went to Mars Pier and saw a bunch of birds on the pier. The shore bird watching continued on our walk on the beach. There were about 25 Egrets and a Tri-colored Heron in a tree across the bayou.
When we got back to Camp Crane, the Robins had invaded. They were so many of them, that they chased off the Pileated Woodpecker.
We continued our bird watching on the CL Dees Trail. We found a baby Downy Woodpecker lying on his back with pine straw clutched in his claws. After a little help from us, he was able to climb back up the tree. Obviously, his first attempt at flying, was not successful.
Monday
We cleaned the signs on the CL Dees Trail this morning. We went back this afternoon, and walked the trail taking pictures and prepping for our 2 plant walks this weekend.
We had planned to walk up Crane Lane, but Fernykat had a different plan. Outside she came.
Tuesday
We hung around camp today on this cold, windy day getting our laundry done. Lauren's new camera arrived, or as he calls it my Christmas present.
One of the newly released cranes has a wound to her leg and was taken to Audubon for medical treatment.
Wednesday
Lauren worked on trying to get our furnace on the camper working. A new heater is ordered. It's a good thing we have electric heaters on this 30 degree night.
Thursday
We worked the VC today with Carol and Charley. We are supposed to have the Crane Feast this weekend, but it looks like it may get rained out.
Angie dressed in the Ghillie suit and walked Greta, her fur baby, around the crane pen for a Predator test. Rose, Lauren, and I watched in the ground blind. Scott and Shannon watched in the tower blind. Angie in the Ghillie suit reminds me of the Swamp Monster. It would make a great Halloween costume.
The cranes were very alert when they saw the Ghillie and the dog heading toward the pen.
They flew straight up when the Ghillie and Greta walked around the outside of the pen, giving them a perfect score on this test. Just say, they passed with flying colors.
On our walk on the CL Dees Trail, we found our favorite woodpecker, the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, along with several other favorites.
Friday
We had our resident deer eating acorns among the cars and campers at Camp Crane this morning.
All volunteers reported to work this morning to find out the Crane Feast was cancelled. A couple went home and the rest of us piddled all day. We had 18 visitors today, all of them were before 1 pm.
After we closed , we took a stroll on the CL Dees Trail for Lauren to try out my new Christmas present he bought me.
Saturday
There were hundreds of American Robins on the back lawn of headquarters when we opened the VC at 7:30 this morning. When Lauren went out the side door to get the SUV, he was greeted by the resident Fox Squirrel.
We had 2 people from Alaska on this rainy Crane Tour. They were like us, they would rather ride around in the rain looking for cranes than sitting inside watching it rain.
A pretty productive Crane Whisperer Tour. We saw 11 Sandhill Cranes, several deer, a Great Egret, a Red Tailed Hawk, and a Bald Eagle.
We got off at noon and went out to eat. Afterwards, Lauren installed our new heater and I took a long nap to sleep off my full belly while listening to the pidder padder of rain.
I was glad the weather man got the forecast right today, after all the hard work that was put into planning for the cancelled Crane Fest. It would have been a good day for a Rain Fest.
The week of Pictures:
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