We were stopped for almost an hour watching 3 of the 6 recently released cranes first walking away from us on Brown's Trail then turning around and walking toward us. Their gait got Anita and I singing, Hey Hey We're The Monkeys. We wonder where the other 3 are???
We saw a total of 10 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, the Eagles nesting, an Armadillo, several other species of birds, and Nemesis.
Late afternoon, we continued enjoying the day with a nice campfire.
Monday morning, we found out Merlin, one of the captive cranes didn't make it. A coyote mortality. We worked the VC with Judy and Terry. Lauren and I had an 11 am tour with 3 tourist. A very intriguing 90 year old woman, her daughter, and her son-in-law. We only saw 2 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, Dougie and his mate, but what a show. Dougie and his partner flapped their wings, then Dougie showed off his graceful dancing skills. Such a beautiful sight.
The Eagles are still sitting on both nest. We finally saw the other parent Eagle sitting in his favorite dead tree near the nest at Ben Williams crop unit. We also saw 3 juvenile eagles in the South Gautier Unit.
Tuesday we worked the VC with Judy and Terry. We assisted biology with the release of the captive reared cranes at the HQ savanna, along with staff from Fire, Bon Secour, and the National Forest. The 3 captive reared walked out and flew right over the VC HQ. It was another fabulous release. Catherine and Danny got quite a show watching from the blind at the VC.
Wednesday Lauren did a tour while I covered the VC. He only had 1 person on the tour and they saw 5 Ms. Sandhill Cranes, and of course the Eagles nesting.
Thursday, we weren't scheduled for the VC. We walked the Dees Trail and took brochures to the Ms. Welcome Center.
Friday, we got news of another mortality, Pipit. He may have been a victim of a Great Horned Owl.
We assisted biology with the Christmas Bird Count. We tromped around in the wet pine savannas flushing grass birds then drove the refuge roads looking for them. It was a lot of fun and a lot of exercise. If we hung with biology on a regular basis, we would be in much better shape.
I found a cool Black Racer snake shed. There was a time I would have screamed and run. Today I picked it up and gave it to Carol for use at the VC.
We got the van stuck when we turned around at the Spray Fields, (and Lauren was not driving). After using our MacGyver skills, we were able to get the van out of the bog and continued with our count.
Friday night we heard a weird chirping as we were sitting around the campfire. It was the 3 recently released flying over the bayou. We heard 2 of them splash in the bayou, then rustling around in the thicket. After a few minutes, 2 of the 3 flew back the way they came. These crazy birds.
Saturday, we wrapped up the week going to Erica's house for an awesome Williams Christmas get together.
Pictures:
HQ Release Pictures:
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