We took our Sunday morning ride in the refuge this morning. The Crane Gang was at the feeder right before we left.
We saw the Milhouse/Truffle family at Browns Trail Crop Unit. They allowed us to take a few pictures before one of the youngsters decided it was time to fly. The rest of the family joined in.
Banana and Coconut were in their usual hangout being as photogenic as always.
The Great Blue Heron nestlings at Valentine Pond are doing good. We saw the two in one nest and the solo in the other nest.
The Great Egret was looking pretty, preening on top of one of the cypress tress at Valentine Pond.
We saw one of biggest Cottonmouth Snakes we have ever seen near the slough area on Browns Trail.
Up the hill, we took pictures of a Northern Bobwhite that was standing on a log.
The South Gautier Unit was a little quieter as far as Crane sightings go, but we did see a couple.
We saw several deer, including two different does with their fawns.
The Cardinals, Chickadees, and Hummingbirds feasted at their feeders this afternoon, while the Pileated Woodpeckers and Red-headed Woodpeckers feasted on their grub in the Oak Trees.
We have our own ant-eater, Patio, the lizard. He was chomping away on the ants that were on the rug.
Meet Bob, our first ever sighting of a Bob-tailed Cardinal.
Monday morning we ran a few errands. When we returned, we had a casualty on Crane Lane. A fawn had been hit by a car. ðŸ˜
That afternoon we went to Fontainebleau Trail to pick up trash. Believe it or not, there was no trash.
We stayed inside until later in the afternoon. We were in the process of watering the garden, when a thunderstorm came up. That's one way to get rain.
Tuesday morning Lauren got up early and walked the trail. He found a couple of Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on the Water Cowbane near the pier. Hopefully, we will be able to watch them emerge to butterflies.
We got ole Billy Goat out and cleaned up the straw covering the road and parking lot that blew down from yesterday's thunderstorm. What I thought, was a pine cone, was a very small Box Turtle. Lucky for him, he has a hard shell when he got blown off the road. OOPS!
We have our first Carolina Ruella bloom in the plant garden. This is one of those plants we transplanted weeks ago.
The afternoon, we did a few volunteer chores then relaxed at camp.
We were out in the field at 0600 Wednesday morning. We went with Scott and Erin for another attempt to band the Firetower Twins. As soon as we opened the blind windows, 2 Cranes flew over us. This same thing happened the last time we were here. Only, this time, we got a picture.
We spotted a couple of Cranes near the pond that were just standing there. A little while later, we spotted the family. I guess those youngsters like to sleep late. The family walked in the same direction as before for a little bit before one of the adults and both kids found a spot to feed and preen. The other parent stood guard, watching intensively.
The pair of Cranes that had been standing near the pond starting walking toward the family. All the sudden, the family flew toward the pair and ran them off. Yes, the entire family flew. We were impressed at the graceful flight the youngsters had. Needless to say, mission aborted.
We spent the rest of the morning putting together the frame for the Kubota shed before the rain started.
Thursday was mow day. We had to stop for rain and had to dodge some wet spots, but we got it done. We got our walk in on the Dees Trail. There were not as many pollinators as there has been, but plenty to keep our attention.
We had quite a few of our resident birds pay a visit at Camp Crane this afternoon. A Carolina Chickadee got all preened up.
We watched a Pileated Woodpecker visit the dead tree behind the camper.
We got up early Friday morning and was on the road by 7:30 am. We went to the Fontainebleau Trail to place brochures and found a bag that had a stinky, decayed critter in it that was thrown out at the parking area. Dang people! We checked on what we will need to do to get the weed-eating done around the fence at the Fontainebleau pen. The Fire folks have done an excellent job chopping, cutting, and getting the fence back up.
We filled up the truck and purchased a battery for the van. We did some storm prep at Camp Crane, packed up, and evacuated to Crossroads for Hurricane Ida.
