Sunday we packed up and went home to cut grass for a couple of days. Lauren got the yard cut Sunday and the field bushhogged Monday. He saw all kinds of critters as he was cutting the field. Near the end he had 9 Mississippi Kites bombing down around him catching grasshoppers. A pretty spectacular sight.
As we were sitting around relaxing this afternoon, a Red-shouldered Hawk came down and missed his supper. He should have some easy pickings with all the grass cut.
Tuesday we made it back to Camp Crane, unpacked, then went on a road orchid safari. We were pleasantly surprised to find one in the North Valentine Savanna in an 8 week old burn, well out of the 4-6 week after a burn window.
As an added bonus, we saw plenty of cranes, including our favorites Banana and Coconut.
We checked on the recent burn at the South Gautier Unit and saw the Beasley Brothers hanging out near the nest.
We spent the afternoon doing some armchair birding at Camp Crane.
Wednesday, we did a little bit of piddling around the visitor center then went to Fontainebleu Trail to work on our directional sign project. We have been seeing an alligator at the overlook. Today we saw two of them, both were pretty good size.
When we returned we completed the DGF tank checks for the Interns, while they were in ATV/UTV class.
We weren't the only bird watchers at Camp Crane this afternoon, we had a Broad-winged Hawk gawking as well.
Thursday was a rainy day. We hung around the visitor center for a while then helped the Interns check the tanks when there was a break in the rain. That break in the rain didn't last very long. We came back with frogs and were soaking wet.
On our way to release 61 frogs, we placed a stick with a flag in a hole that was in the road.
While we were looking for snakes at the drift fence, we found one of the mets that Lauren tagged last week. Very cool!
We released Tortellini, one of the DGF's from the aquarium. He was very photogenic, resting on a log, before he jumped in the pond.
On our way back, I saw an American Racer and told Jake to catch him. Surprisingly he jumped from the other side of the road and swooped him up. The snake was not happy and bit him several times.
Friday I spent several hours in the bookstore getting it organized and placing orders. While I was tied up with this, Lauren worked on the native plant garden and walked the Dees Trail and Crane Lane.
This afternoon, we helped Theresa and Jake run the traps and came back with 36 frogs.
An afternoon of armchair birding at Camp Crane was very rewarding. We saw several different species of birds competing for the feeders. Lauren even captured a picture of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird peeing. He is quite talented with that camera, and very lucky.
Saturday was our day off. We helped Theresa check the traps and came back with 28 frogs. About lunch time, a lady showed up at the visitor center with an injured crane. She had picked it up after it had been struck by a car. It was crane #1408. We took the crane to the vet at the Audubon Zoo, but sadly she died enroute. She leaves behind her mate #731 and her 2 week old chick. ðŸ˜
On a happy note while we were at the zoo, Rachel the vet tech, gave us a tour of the hospital then rode us around in a golf cart in the rain for a zoo tour. We got to see some cool stuff and got to hold a 7 week old otter they are raising. Rachel was very enthusiastic about her place of work and gave us an amazing tour. On the way home, we stopped and ate at Middendorf's. The seafood platter that we shared was fabulous.
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