1-19-20 to 1-25-20 Volunteer Gig II

Yesterday we wore short pants, today we had on jackets and hats.  The temperature was about 50 degrees with howling, cold, wind.  What a difference a day makes.

We took a walk on Crane Lane and the Dees Trail.  We saw Dikkop and Auk in the same spot for over 2 hours in the HQ savanna.  Banana and Coconut were standing in the slough near Crane Lane.  All the birds were hunkered down from the wind.

We found our first Grass Centipede Orchids of the season along Crane Lane.

Monday, the VC was closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  It was a sunny, cold, windy day.  We took a ride to check on the Eagle nests after our walk on Crane Lane.  We had our first sighting of the Eaglet in the Ben Williams nest.  One of the parents was sitting in a nearby tree when we drove through.  When we came back a parent flew in the nest and fed the youngster.  She moved side to side in the nest.  We only could see one Eaglet.

A juvenile Eagle was flying too close to the nest on Beasley.  One parent was in the nest and the other parent was chasing off the juvenile then landed in a nearby tree.

Tuesday, we had a steady pace of visitors at the VC on this cold, windy, day.

Wednesday, we had a 9 am Crane Tour with 9 tourist.  It was another great tour.  We had 17 Mississippi Sandhill Crane sightings.  We were entertained by 2 different Cranes dancing.  The first Ms. Sandhill Crane that danced was in the Savanna off Valentine Road.  They are called the Painted Pair.  They flew into the savanna then one of the pair started to dance.

Our second debut was Dougie and his partner in Bright's Pasture.  Dougie, aka Fred Astaire, put on another great performance.  He threw not only grass and dirt, but a feather.  It looks like the mating season is in full swing, although both of the non dancing mates did not seem very impressed.

We saw Auk and Dikkop at the HQ feeder before we left. Then found Banana and Coconut walking around in Valentine Pond.  After our turn around on Valentine Road, Banana and Coconut were walking down the middle of Valentine Road.

We saw one of the parents in a nearby tree of the nest on Ben Williams Road and got a good look at the Eaglet in the nest.

 One parent was feeding the eaglet in the Beasley nest.

We spent the afternoon doing a Gulfport run.  We made a quick stop at Sam's then went to Island View.  Lauren cashed in $17 from his $20 free play.  We finally found the Whimbrel at Jones Park.

Thursday, we spent this cloudy, rainy day hanging around camp.

Friday, we did a special request Crane Tour for the Homestead Retirement Village.  We took the group of 10 on a 1 1/2 tour  and saw 11 Sandhill Cranes.  We stopped at one of the Eagle nests and got to see one of the parents through the spotting scope. Afterwards, we went to lunch with them.  I think we had as much fun as they did. We did a Dees Trail walk late afternoon.

Saturday, we had a Crane Tour with 8 tourist.  Six of the tourist were from New Orleans and brought us a King Cake.  We had another great time, with 12 Ms. Sandhill Crane sightings.  We saw a parent at both of the Eagle nests.  The Eaglet in the Ben Williams nest teased us today.  He would pop his head up for a few seconds then back down he would go.  He sure is growing fast.  We worked in the VC this afternoon with the Loews.  We had a total of 102 visitors on this pretty, sunny, day.

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1-12-20 to 1-18-20 Volunteer Gig II

We lounged around on this cloudy Sunday morning.  We took a walk on the Dees Trail and on Crane Lane, watched Dikkop, Auk, Banana, and Coconut at HQ, then had a campfire late afternoon.  Just a nice relaxing kind of day.

Monday was the first time that we had a Crane Tour scheduled that no one signed up for.  It was a cloudy, rainy day with only 6 visitors at the VC.  Dikkop, Auk, Banana, Coconut, NV11, and 337 hung around competing for the feeder all day.  We had as many cranes visit today as we had people.  The 6 visitors were very engaging and the 6 cranes were very entertaining.

Tuesday, we worked at the VC today.  Lauren helped Angie with boat motor maintenance.  We walked the Dees Trail and found Yellow Butterwort plants.  We also found Primrose leaved Violets and White Screwstem blooms.  We love bloom chasing.

Wednesday, we spent the morning enjoying the views of Auk, Banana, Coconut, and Banana at the VC.

After almost 2 years of hanging at Camp Crane, we finally got to go boat riding in Bayou Castille with Angie this afternoon.  Our first order of business was to try to locate Loon.  Her mortality signal is across the bayou from Camp Crane.  With high water and marsh land, it is going to be hard to retrieve her tracker.

Our second order of business was to check the 4th Eagles nest on the refuge that can only be seen by boat.  When we got near the nest and stopped the boat, the parent Eagle flew over us squawking then landed in a nearby tree trying to get our attention away from the nest.  We didn't see an Eaglet, but are pretty sure there is one in the nest.

It was such a beautiful, peaceful, boat ride. What a way to spend the afternoon.

Thursday, we hung around Camp Crane today after a much needed Wally World run.  It was a nice, do nothing, kind of day.

Friday, we had a pretty steady day interacting with the 24 visitors at the VC.

Saturday, we flushed NV11, 337, Dikkop, and Auk when we heading in to the VC this morning.  We had a 9 am Crane Tour with 5 tourist and had 20 Mississippi Sandhill Crane sightings.  We were pleased to find Dikkop and Auk in the North Gautier Unit near Elbert's Pond during the tour.

We still haven't seen an Eaglet on Ben Williams nest, but saw a very uncoordinated, Eaglet head bobbing around in the Beasley nest.  We have named the Eaglet BG.  B is for Beasley and G is for Gautier Unit.  The Eaglet watch is on!!

We had a get together with our co-volunteers, Angie, and the interns late afternoon enjoying turkey burgers and a campfire.

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1-5-20 to 1-11-20 Volunteer Gig II

Sunday, we had a special request for a birding tour on the refuge for a family of 3.  We are intrigued by the knowledge of this expert birder.  She not only identified birds that she visualized but identified them by sound.

The eagle at the Ben Williams crop unit was sitting on the nest with her pretty white head shining in the sun.  The eagle near the Beasley Crop Unit was actively moving around in her nest.  Maybe there is a baby hatched.

Judy and Terry made it back to Camp Crane from their Florida trek before dark.  The co-volunteers at Camp Crane enjoyed a campfire for a little while before the temperatures dropped.

Monday, we had a 10 am tour with 8 tourist and had 25 Sandhill Crane sightings.  After the tour we hiked the overgrown Escatawpa Trail.

Tuesday, we hiked the Dees Trail, washed some clothes, and had delicious craw fish nachos at the Ole Fillin Station.  We looked for a Vermillion Flycatcher in the area that must have been hiding from the cold north wind.

Wednesday, we had a record breaking Crane Whisperer Tour.  We had 6 tourist and had 51 Sandhill Crane sightings.  We saw several other bird species and lots of deer on this 3 hour tour.  Both eagles were active in their nest today.  Maybe we will see some eaglets in a few weeks.

We went out to eat at Sicily's, made a much needed run to Sam's and stopped by Island View so Lauren could use his $20 free play,  His free play turned into $58.60.  I lost $10.  We walked out with smiles and free millionaire candy.

We made a stop at Jones Park to look for a Whimbrel, which is a shore bird rarely seen here.  We didn't find him.

But, we did find the Vermillion Flycatcher we looked for yesterday.  Persistence paid off.  We enjoyed another night sitting around the fire pit with our co-volunteers.

Thursday and Friday we worked at the VC today with Judy and Terry.

Saturday, we were so happy to be greeted by Banana, Coconut, Auk, and Dikkop when we opened the VC this morning.  Late afternoon, NV11 and 337 had a hard time keeping the feeder to themselves.  When they ran Auk and Dikkop to the back porch, Banana and Coconut would eat at the feeder.  When they ran Banana and Coconut around the building, Auk and Dikkop would eat at the feeder.  So much fun to watch.

We had a Crane Tour with 6 tourist and had 48 Sandhill Crane sightings.  It was a cloudy and windy day with thunderstorms predicted.  The Sandhill Cranes were very active today.  They were flying around, calling, then land for a short time before taking off again.  It was quite a show.  We got lucky and got back before the rain started.

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