It was finally warm enough to get some hiking in on Sunday. It was a beautiful day with the temps in the 50's. On our way to the Fontainebleau Trail, we stopped and got a few more photos of the Rock Hill family.
We walked the Fontainebleau Trail picking up a bit of trash along the way.
After lunch, we walked Crane Lane and the Dees Trail. It is so nice to be able to bundle up and get outside.
When we returned from the Dees Trail, the HQ 5 were feasting at the feeder.
We got our Dees Trail and Crane Lane walk in on Monday morning. There was not a whole lot of birding activity until after we got off the trail. The HQ 5 flew in the backyard and a Northern Flicker perched in a pine tree.
We did some clearing of the Saw Palmetto at Camp Crane then headed out with the Interns to get measurements and photos of the Eagle nests for possible banding of the Eaglets.
The Eagle in G11 gave us a good talking to, (or chirping to), keeping a keen eye on us. When we retreated, he admiringly looked down in his nest.
The Eagle in G15 was not happy with us getting so close to the nest, soaring and calling while we got our task done.
We still have empty nest syndrome at the G14 Eagle nest. 😢
The HQ 5 were back when we returned to HQ. Seeing Cranes in the backyard never gets old.
We didn't do much on this dreary, rainy Tuesday. We didn't even take a picture of the HQ 5 that were around HQ when we went over to the VC to get a few things done.
The lack of picture taking changed when the Masked Bandit showed up under the bird feeders at Camp Crane, while it was still daylight. He was a good Coon, only eating the seeds that the birds had dropped on the ground.
It was a beautiful Wednesday, with the temps in the mid 50's. The only problem was the wind. We managed to get a Crane Lane walk in and decided it was a slacker kind of day, so to the beach we went.
We took the long way around looking for Cranes and was successful seeing 8 of them.
We checked out the shorelines from Mars Pier to Back Bay Biloxi. Enjoying the few shorebirds that were huddled from the wind.
We also found an American Kestrel and a Loggerhead Shrike hunting for their next meal.
We went to our old stomping ground, the property that once was the Broadwater Golf Course. It was like a ride down memory lane, only the lanes were narrower with the trees encroaching the road. Another downer is this property has become a dump site for sand and trash, although the Pied-billed Grebe didn't seem to mind.
The HQ 5 were foraging in the backyard when we returned. Tsunami was chomping at the feeder while all the guys were digging in the ground.
We took advantage of this beautiful Thursday, getting our walk in. We saw a couple of deer and a few birds, but nothing that was photogenic. The afternoon we spent replacing the door on the Boss Blind. We thought this would be an easy task, until we realized it was secured with pop rivets.
As we were taking care of a few tasks Friday morning, we saw a Doe and her youngster near the fire center.
We saw several Cranes on our way to the FB Trail, including the Swedish Chef family foraging at Sunplex.
On our way back, we took the short cut through Browns Trail. There were lots of Cranes in their usual hangouts.
We checked on the G15 nest hoping to see an Eaglet or two. We gave the nest a good looking over as the parent Eagle kept a keen eye on us.
We saw 11 Sandhill Cranes and a couple of Immature Eagles while there.
We also saw a strikingly beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker stashing his meal in a tree. He must be stocking up his pantry.
We got back to Camp and settled in for the day.
Saturday was another beautiful breezy day. The temperature barely got up to 50 degrees. We bundled up and got some walking in.
While we were out and about, we realized the HQ 5 were inside the acclimation pen. We watched from the Boss Blind for a good bit of the day. They have had a rough week with Quick Sand getting his tracker replaced, then a dog off leash chasing them in the front of HQ. They appeared to be content inside the pen, drinking water from the pond and chowing down at the Chow feeder. Looks like they are back in their comfort zone.
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