Sunday, Lauren observed one of the cranes on top of the netted pen with his legs hanging through. By the time he got a scope to get a closer look, the crane flew off. Which is much better than having to get a ladder and get him out.
We went to the North Gautier Unit on this hot humid morning looking for orchids. We only found one Rose Pagonia before the rain started.
We saw several cranes and a Northern Harrier along Valentine Road.
We saw Mean Momma and her mate walking on the other side of Valentine Pond. They have been nesting in this area. We are optimistic that the nest has hatched and not been predated. (We found out later that the nest was predated, dang it)
While we were at the South Gautier Unit we looked in the area that we found Many-flowered Grasspink blooms last week. We did not find any new blooms.
It was a very enjoyable start to the week, seeing 27 sandhill cranes and a lot of other cool stuff. It was also nice to relax and enjoy our refuge.
Monday was a nice, laid back, no picture kind of day.
We worked in the visitor center with the Linas on this rainy Tuesday. We got a lot of organizing and decluttering done. It was another no picture, kind of day.
Wednesday we had a Crane Tour for 4 people on this cloudy, cool day. During the 3 1/2 hour tour, we had 18 crane sightings and plenty of other bird species.
Before we got to Valentine Road, Lauren stopped the van, and said "my oh my!" in response to seeing several Calopogon multiflorus plants. This was one of many stops that we made to admire the pretties in the savanna.
We saw a lot of other cool stuff, including a Cottonmouth, our first Eastern Kingbird sightings of the year, and our first Solitary Sandpiper sighting on the refuge.
After the tour, we took Sami on a short ride through the North Gautier Unit then headed to the casino for a night of fun with Anita.
Thursday we made it back to camp after making a stop for breakfast and a Sams run. We didn't win any money, (that we took home), but had a great time at the casino.
We spent the afternoon moving stuff around to get ready for flooring replacement at HQ. We found out after the fact, that the flooring will be delayed for a few weeks. It was another no picture taking, kind of day.
Friday morning 6 of the HQ gang and an unbanded were hanging around HQ.
While we were getting a few chores done, we saw a bunch of Cedar waxwings in the HQ savanna.
This afternoon we went on an orchid safari with Jake and Theresa. We were hoping to find Calopogon multiflorus in a new location, the Coke Savanna.
As we were driving out on Crane Lane, we stopped for an North American Racer that was crossing the road. Theresa jumped out and grabbed it. Needless to say, these Interns are into herpes.
On the way, we stopped and admired the Calopogon multiflorus that we found earlier in the week at the East Valentine Savanna.
We also found a frog skeleton.
We tromped around in the savanna for a couple of hours. We found a lot of pretties, but not the rare ones that we were looking for.
We had several cranes around during our search, including our favorites, Banana and Coconut.
A Swallow-tailed Kite did a fly over as we were walking back to the van.
We got back and relaxed at Camp Crane. After all the walking, it was much needed.
Saturday morning we checked on the Beasley Eagle nest. We only saw one of the babies. It appears Bad Beak may have flown the coop.
We did not have the first crane show up for the 40 visitors that we had in the visitor center today. After the thunderstorm, we sat outside and relaxed at Camp Crane. We could hear the cranes calling late afternoon near the visitor center.
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