2-16-20 - 2-22-20 Volunteer Gig II

Sunday was a dreary, rainy day.  We finally got outside late afternoon for a walk and had a Dikkop and Auk fly over heading to the feeder at the VC.  After our walk, we sat in our chairs in front of the truck to block the wind and watch the traffic on Crane Lane.

Monday, we hiked Crane Lane then went to the North Gautier Unit to take pictures of the recent burn and to look for Chapman's Butterwort, a rare carnivorous plant.  We didn't find the plant, but we found plenty of Sandhill Cranes.  There were about 40 of them foraging for roasted grub in the Valentine Savanna.  There were Sandhill Cranes everywhere, calling and flying.  That roasted grub must be like Crack Cocaine to the Sandhill Cranes.

Banana, Coconut, Milhouse, Truffle, and their youngster flew over the van then landed near us in the crop unit.  They were running, jumping in the air, kicking, calling, and flying around, harassing each other.  They had no cares that we were that close to them, allowing us to take pictures and videos.  We got to witness a beautiful duet from Coconut and Banana.

Tuesday, we made a Wally World trip then walked the Dees Trail.  We found our first fence lizard, green anole, and green tree frog of the season.  We decided to clean up the van being we spend more time in the van than we do in our own vehicles.

Wednesday, we went to Mrs. Ruth's funeral.

Thursday, Ferny Kat met Lauren in the bathroom when he got up this morning for her usual petting.  He noticed she was wet and thought she had played in her water bowl.  Before he could get downstairs he heard her meowing and found her sitting on the camper steps outside in the rain.  I had locked the door last night not realizing it was not closed.  Ferny Kat was singing in the rain!

Friday, we had another great Crane Tour for a group of 7.  We had 36 Sandhill Crane sightings.  All the sightings were at the North Gautier Unit except for 4 of them.  I was somewhat surprised to see this many cranes on this cold, windy, day.

We found Dougie and his mate in the back yard of a house on Briarcrest Lane.  It looked like there was some good foraging going on.

We saw one of the adult Bald Eagle and the Eaglet on the I 10 Crop Unit nest.  He is sure growing up fast. There was no eagle sightings at BG's nest.

After the tour, we sat in on Angie's presentation to a college group.  As always, we learned something new.

Saturday, we had a group of 9 on our tour for the Ms. Gulf Coast Audubon today.  We saw about 30 Sandhill Cranes.  It is good to see so many cranes at the Valentine Savanna still enjoying that roasted grub.

We got to see one of the parent Bald Eagle perched in a limb in the tree at the Ben Williams.  The Eaglet looks like he has grown even more since yesterday.  There were 5 Bald Eagle soaring way up high above us.  No BG sighting today.

Pictures:

2-9-20 to 2-15-20 Volunteer Gig II

Sunday, we walked a couple of miles to get our exercise in, then did a cool down loop walking the Dees Trail.  After lunch we loaded up with our co-volunteers and toured the Ocean Springs Unit.  It was a slow day of sightings for Cranes and other creatures, but a beautiful day to be out and about.

Monday, we had a 10 am Crane Tour and saw 13 Ms. Sandhill Cranes.  The parent Eagles were seen at both nest, but the Eaglets were not as visible as we would have liked.  Late afternoon, we had a surprise visit from Carol and Roger at the VC.  It was great to see them again.

Tuesday, we got our 2 mile lunch time walk in then went to eat the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays and did a quick Wally World run.  We sat around outside this afternoon being entertained by a stray kitten.  He was very friendly with us, but he and Ferny Kat did not get along.  She was inside the camper and he was outside the door, hissing at each other.  He is definitely, not Ferny Kat approved

Wednesday, we had 2 Crane Tours.  Each tour had 8 people on it.  We had 17 Sandhill Crane sightings in the morning and 33 Sandhill Crane sightings in the evening.

It was a really foggy morning.  Lauren drove slow and we looked hard. Finally, the fog started lifting late morning.

The Eaglet was sitting attentively in the I 10 crop unit nest.  As we were admiring him, 2 Sandhill Cranes flew silently above us.  One of the parent Eagles was sitting in their favorite tree a few meters away, keeping an Eagle eye on the Eaglet and us.

The Eaglet on Beasley was standing in his nest behind some limbs.  One of the parents was perched in a limb in a nearby tree.

The fog finally cleared for the evening tour.  We were really impressed to see 16 Sandhill Cranes grouped together at the Valentine Savanna.  It appeared 13 of these were Greater Sandhill Cranes.

Coconut and Banana were foraging at the end of Browns Crop Unit a few feet from the road allowing good photo ops.

The Eaglet at I 10 Crop Unit was being fed with both of his parents in the nest.

We got up close and personal to a Bob White at the edge of Ben Williams Road, allowing another good photo op.

On both tours we saw a lot of different species of birds.  It appears the Canada Geese have settled in the Firetower Pond.

When we got back to the VC, a lone Sandhill Crane flew into the savanna.  Shortly after, NV11 & 337 flew in and the lone Crane flew away.  It appears the loner is a Juvenile that has been kicked out by his parents.  After all, nesting season is near.

Thursday, we stayed around Camp Crane, did some laundry and some hiking. It was a nice laid back kind of day.

Friday, we took a walk on the Dees Trail then the Fountaineblue Trail on this windy but pretty day.  We enjoyed watching a Brown Pelican fishing in Davis Bayou from the overlook of the trail.

We took a ride to Mars Pier then through Gulf Islands National Seashore then back to Camp Crane.

Saturday, we had 2 Crane Tours on this pretty but cool day.  The morning tour had a group of 6 and we had 31 Sandhill Crane sightings.  The afternoon tour had a group of 8 and we had 14 Sandhill Crane sightings.

It was a totally different view on the North Gautier Unit from the morning to the evening tour.  The Fire Center had a prescribed burn in between the tours.  We were able to show the evening group what it looks like right after a burn.  We were also able to point out 7 Sandhill Cranes foraging on the roasted grub in the Valentine Savanna.

The Eaglets were not as cooperative as we would have liked, but we did get a good view of the Eaglet and one on the parents at the I10 Crop Unit on the afternoon tour.

After work we enjoyed a good ole campfire.


Pictures: