We lazed around this morning, enjoying our coffee and watching the birds at the feeder. We got a new resident, a Carolina Chickadee.
We started our Refuge tour in the South Gautier Unit on a mission to check out the recent controlled burns.
We saw 5 Sandhill Cranes near the burn on Beasley Road. They did a little dancing way out in the savanna.
We could not detect if there was an Eaglet in the Beasley eagle nest, but there is no doubt about the Ben Williams nest. We could see one of them really good, we named him Goober. The other Eaglet's head was behind a limb. One of the parents was close by, perched on a limb.
We made a ride through the South Gautier Unit then to the Ocean Springs Unit. As we were driving up to the lake for our picnic lunch, we flushed a sub adult Bald Eagle from the water. As we were eating our lunch, we had a flyover of a mature Bald Eagle. Nice picnic ambiance.
After 6 hours of puttering around, and seeing 9 Sandhill Cranes, bunches of Red-tailed Hawks, a few American Kestrels, Deer, a Kingfisher, a Great Egret, a couple of Great Blue Herons, a couple of Pied-billed Grebes, a Pileated Woodpecker, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, several other bird species, an Opossum, and a Rat Snake, we made our way back to Camp Refuge.
We got a pizza and watched the super bowl outside while sitting around the propane fire pit, until half time. We were more entertained by the commercials than the football game.
Monday
Our first scheduled 10 am Crane Tour was a success. We had a really great group of 8 tourist and we saw 11 Sandhill Cranes. All for that, your not going to see any Cranes unless you go at 8 am belief.
One of the Eaglet parents was soaring around on Beasley while the other parent was setting on the nest keeping her young warm and dry from the light rain.
We saw one of the Ben Williams Eaglet parents perched in a tree near the nest, but no Eaglet sightings.
We took a late afternoon stroll on the CL Dees Trail. The overlook is finished and looks fantastic.
Tuesday
We planned on helping with 3 captive reared Cranes from Audubon's release today which was cancelled at the last minute. We had a cloudy, warm day with no plans, so we did a few chores and a little walking. We saw more birds at Camp Refuge than on the trail. The birds know they have it made at Camp Refuge.
It was warm enough today for short sleeves and short pants. Last week, we had a possibility of snow flurries. What a difference a week makes.
Wednesday
By the time we got to moving around this morning, it was time for lunch. It stayed foggy for most of the day.
We have a few blooms on the CL Dees Trail that we put markers on. While we were putting them out, an instructor picked up a Speckled King Snake for her college class to see. Spring is in the air!
Late afternoon, we parked on Brown's Trail and walked 2.5 miles in the fog. We saw 9 deer and a few plants we would have missed on a drive through.
Thursday
We made 2 trips to check on the Eaglets today. One trip with the Loews and one with Pat.
Our first trip, we could never get a look at the Ben Williams Eaglets, but we got a show at the Beasley nest.
There is only one Eaglet on the Beasley, and he is almost grown. His parents kept him hid for a while, but now he is getting too big to hide. While we were admiring him, Momma started squawking as a sub-adult Eagle flew by. It wasn't long, Daddy got back, when the sub-adult flew close the next time, Daddy took off after him. After a 2nd chase, Daddy came back, sub-adult did not. What a show!
We took a quick ride to Valentine Road and Briarcrest Pasture. We saw 2 Sandhill Cranes as we were leaving the North Gautier Unit and 16 at Briarcrest Pasture. We got our crane fix.
We made the 2nd Eagle trip with Pat. Both parents were near the nest and the Eaglet twins were visible this time. They have grown a lot since Sunday. The feathers on the back of their head remind me of George Washington's wig.
We saw the kid in the Beasley nest. Mom was in the nest, and dad was in a nearby tree with dinner.
We got it made. Where else can you spend your day off watching Eagles?
Friday
The Fire Center had a back pack qualifier this morning on Crane Lane. The participants had to walk, not run, 3 miles in less than 45 minutes carrying a 45 pound backpack. Lauren and I were the cheer leaders for Danny, Angie, and Scott who qualified with minutes to spare.
We had 8 people in our 10 am Crane Tour. We saw a Buck as soon as we entered the North Gautier unit, but the Sandhill Cranes were in hiding. I can't really blame them, it is a cold, windy, cloudy morning.
An hour later, we finally saw 7 Greater Sandhill Cranes in Bright's Pasture. They were hunkered down in a low area, probably avoiding the cold wind. They were very patient and photogenic for us.
The Eagles in the South Gautier unit put on another spectacular show today. Both of the Eaglets were visible in the Ben Williams nest. One of the parents arrived with a fish for dinner while we were watching. Lauren didn't get the picture, he was too busy setting up scopes and helping people find the eaglets.
We found 2 Mississippi Sandhill Cranes eating the roasted grub in the recently burned savanna on Beasley. The Juvenile Eagle on the Beasley nest was easily seen sitting on a limb at the nest. One of the parents was close by keeping on eye this fast growing baby.
Another great Crane Tour in the books.
Saturday
We got up moving to open the VC and take off on a Crane Tour with the one person that signed up yesterday for this 8 am tour. She was a no show. Around 8:20 am a woman came speeding in and we assumed it was our no show. Well, everyone knows about assumptions, but she was more than happy to go on the tour, so away we went. We saw 13 Sandhill Cranes and the adult and baby Eagles on their 2 nest..
When we returned to the VC, we had an impromptu Crane Tour of 6 tourist. It was another great tour with 24 Sandhill Crane Sightings, the adult Eagles and their young in both nests, and a Snow Goose. This lone Snow Goose was hanging with 10 Greater Sandhill Cranes in Bright's Pasture. Quite an odd thing to see.
We had our 3rd Crane Tour for Pat and her friend Dorothy. We saw 24 Sandhill Cranes, the Snow Goose still mingling with the Greater Sandhill Cranes, and the Adult and baby Eagles. Afterwards, we went out to eat at Rosy's Mexican Restaurant.
Whew! What a day!! We have played hard today and will sleep well tonight.
The Week of Pictures:
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