Sunday, I lazed around while Lauren did his usual nature chasing stuff. As he was walking down the driveway he saw a Gray Ratsnake.
When he went into the visitor center, he disturbed Thunder, Unbanded, Yoshi, and Mist as they were standing in the shade by the back door.
The Dotted Horsemint has started blooming giving the native plant garden some color.
The Rattlesnake Master were all abuzz in the garden.
I joined Lauren for a stroll along Crane Lane then we headed to check out the new dam at Valentine Pond. It is coming along quite nicely.
While we were out and about, we took a ride through the South Gautier and saw some unphotogenic cranes. At least the Little Blue Heron, the Great Egret, and the Solitary Sandpiper were considerate enough to hang around for their photos.
The afternoon was spent inside with the ac. These days of temps in the upper 90's are brutal.
Monday we spent another day getting stuff put back up at HQ. We got outside late afternoon and saw our first Inca Dove at the refuge. They were hanging with the Mourning Doves at Camp Crane. A new iNaturalist species for the refuge.
Tuesday, Lauren spent the day getting the oil changed in the visitor center vehicles while I got the volunteer desk area in order. It took us both hours to get this done, but it is taken care of . It was a no picture taking kind of day.
Wednesday, we helped Jake and Theresa pressure wash the DGF tanks. The 2023 DGF season is a wrap!
Thursday, we left HQ at 6:30 am in the hopes of catching one of the Riley Road Cranes to band. Unfortunately, there was construction near the area that changed their morning routine. We will try again tomorrow.
On a very happy note, the visitor center reopened today. YAHOO!!
We saw several cranes when went to the North Gautier Unit to see the completion of the new Valentine Dam.
As we were admiring the dam, we saw Avalanche and another crane standing out in the pond along the cypress trees cooling off. Pretty smart birds.
We got a few errands done then took a stroll along the Dees Trail. It was hot, but at least we had a hot wind blowing that helped a little bit. We saw quit a few interesting critters along the way, including one of our favorites, a Hummingbird Moth. It seems to enjoy the pretty Ironweed blooms as much as we do.
The HQ crew were all standing under the shade of the blind chilling out when we came back. It is so nice of them to frequent this area.
Friday, we left HQ at 6 a.m. trying to catch the unbanded RR youngster. We got in place and waited, hoping the youngster would show up and we would chase him down. A little before 8 am we saw the parents and his sibling fly by. We aborted the mission. As we were recapping what was going on, we heard the cranes call and saw the 3 of them fly back toward the area they came from and got a visual on all 4 of them. The youngster we wanted to catch had stayed behind. It sure was good to know it is alive and well.
The rest of the hot day was spent doing a few chores which included a walk along the Dees Trail to update the plant markers. When we returned, and were working on a few things in the visitor center, we saw a Doe walking through the toothache grass in the savanna.
When we headed home, we saw a Doe with her fawn heading toward Camp Crane. So stinking cute!
I slept until 8 am Saturday morning. It felt good to sleep in after getting up the last 2 mornings at 5 am. After lounging most of the morning, we finally got out at 10 am to take a stroll along the Dees Trail. The critters were active and a nice distraction from the heat.
We watched a Red-bellied Woodpecker open mouth breathing, sticking out his tongue, fluffing the feathers on his head, and spanning out his wing. It appears he was about as hot as we were.
We talked with a few nice folks in the visitor center then sat inside the the camper in the comfort of the a/c. This has been another week of sweltering temperatures in the upper 90s with no rain. Mother Nature, we need a break.
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