We spent last week in Crossroads getting parts and figuring out how to replace the black tank on Rap. After a lot of work, Lauren got the tank in and we made it back to Camp Secour on Sunday. We got her set up and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Monday, we spent the day doing a little bit of work while hiking the trails and getting some iNaturalist observations in. Our first hike was the Jeff Friend Trail where we saw a Reddish Egret, and lots of cool plants and critters.
Our next stop was the Pine Beach Observation Tower where we saw a Mississippi Green Watersnake and a Southern Leopard Frog hiding in the grass behind him. Smart Frog!
We found bunches of Gulf Coast Honeycombhead. Balduina augustifolia, on the Gator Lake Trail, but not enough blooms to support the Gulf Coast Solitary Bee population. We were entertained by the many pretty plants and insects that were there.
We saw a couple of Merlins on our way back to the truck. The migration season in here.
We also found a lot of Gulf Coast Honeycombhead plants at Burgoyne Street Dunes. These plants were not as mature as the ones we found on Gator Lake Trail, but they are in the right place, Which is within eye sight of the Gulf where the bees are supposed to be. We will be back.
The butterflies were in abundance, especially on the showy Blazing Star blooms.
We had a restful and entertaining evening watching the 3 Hummingbirds battle for the feeder.
We gave Jeff and Dorie a tour of the refuge Tuesday, then did a little bit of piddling and called it a day.
We started battening down the hatches Wednesday in preparation for a possible hurricane next week. Matthew, Alexis, and us had quite a challenge of figuring out how to put the storm shutters on the upstairs bunkhouse. After a lot of figuring and sweating, we got them up.
After lunch Lauren and I closed all the storm shutters at the Heron House. Again, it was another challenge, but we got it done.
While we were recouping at the compound, we saw several different species of birds in the trees. Lauren didn't even attempt to take a picture, he was wore out from all the pulling he has done today. I managed to get a couple of new species for iNaturalist at Bon Secour, a Black and White Warbler and an American Redstart.
Thursday, we worked in the visitors center. Afterwards, we headed to Fort Pickens Campground for a couple of nights to camp in a tent on this first day of Fall, campsite A42. The site is at the end of the road and a short walk to the beach.
It did not feel like fall with the temperatures in the 90's. Lucky for us, we had a shady spot for the tent when we got there. I can't imagine how hot it would have been in the direct sun.
After we got the tent set up, we relaxed under the shade with the fan blowing on us. We made a sunset walk on the beach and was rewarded with a fabulous sunset. We came back to camp and grilled some brats then called it a night.
We were surprised Friday morning that we were able to sleep with the temps in the mid 70's. A fan circulating the air makes a world of difference. We woke up at 4 am and thought it was raining. Instead, it was a north wind blowing. We got our coffee fix in and reported for the Solitary Bee Field Training at 8 am.
The next 3 hours was spent practicing the survey protocol in the sand dunes so we will be ready to participate when the Gulf Coast Honeycomb Heads get enough blooms to support the Solitary Bee population. This should be in the next couple of weeks.
We spent the afternoon riding around checking out the park. We would have liked to hike the trails and check out the fort, but that can wait until the temperature gets cooler.
After a nice afternoon stroll along the beach, we came back to camp and did a little bit of arm chair birding, grilled some burgers, and then called it an early night.
Saturday morning, we lounged around camp then packed up and headed West. We got a picture of our peeping Tom when we took the tent down. He has been hanging out on the window of the tent since yesterday.
We checked out the Johnson Beach section of the park on the way back. Another pretty area.
We unpacked then processed all the pictures that we had taken for the last couple of days.
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