We got a little bit of work in during our ride thru the North and South Gautier Units Sunday morning. We had 21 Sandhill Crane sightings in the North Unit.
We also saw the Great Blue Heron youngsters standing tall in their nest. The nest is looking way too small for these beauties.
An afternoon stroll was very pleasing along the Dees Trail, except of course, for the heat. The pollinators were out again enjoying all the blooms.
Monday morning was spent getting the mowing done. The afternoon was another gorgeous trail walk along the Dees Trail. We saw a couple of Red-headed Woodpeckers, lots of Pine Warblers, Nuthatches, Mourning Doves, and a few other critters along the way.
The Crane Gang flew right over our camper on the way to the HQ feeder for their afternoon snack. It's nice when they let us know they are here.
The Hummingbirds were very competitive at the feeder this afternoon. They are not into the sharing thing.
Tuesday morning, we got up early. Lauren was up a little after 5, and I, amazingly, was up by 6.
We went to work a few hours later with our Billy Goat. We took turns walking this bad boy along Crane Lane then in the parking lot.
When we got back to Camp Crane we had a Pileated Woodpecker snacking in the Oak Trees.
We decided to take a ride to check out the Fontainebleau Trail Head. We found more than we expected to find. Someone left a full bag of stinky household trash at the kiosk along with a box with other trash in it. One of the cups in the box had a bunch of red and white capsules. Their name and address was on the box. They are not the brightest in the world. Just saying.
This afternoon, Lauren took a stroll along the Dees Trail while I stayed at camp and relaxed.
Wednesday we got the weed-eating done in the HQ pen. Lauren used a regular weed-eater and I used a push weed-eater. The push weed-eater would have been a breeze except for the uneven terrain on this sunny, hot, no breeze day. After we finished, it clouded up and we had a light shower. It would have been nice if this would have happened while we were working in the pen.
We took a slow stroll on the Dees Trail this afternoon.
Thursday morning, we had a steamy, hot walk along the Dees Trail. The shower we had overnight only made things worse.
We decided to get a few things done in the Visitor Center where it was cool. We tore out the paper towel/garbage bins in the restrooms, put together the standing hand sanitizer, and checked out the new paper towel holders and soap dispensers. We don't have a clue when/if we will ever open again, but we will be ready if it happens.
Lauren took an afternoon stroll on the Dees Trail, it was too hot for me.
Tomorrow we meet Scott and Erin at 6 am to help them catch and band the twins at Firetower. The mother of the twins can be aggressive. This should be quit interesting if they show up.
Lauren and I reported at 0600 Friday morning for field work. We headed to the South Gautier Unit with Scott and Erin in the hopes of banding the Firetower twins.
Scott and Erin took the ground blind, Lauren and I took the stand blind. As soon as we opened the windows, a couple of cranes were leaving their roost and flew to the south savanna. No pictures, just memories.
A few minutes later, here they come, the Firetower family. Mom and Dad and the twins were pretty spunky this morning after the rain. We watched, and texted to Scott about their movements and thought they are coming to the feeder. NOT.
After a couple of hours, Scott was ready to abort the mission, until he found out ole Eagle Eye had them spotted about 300 yards South. Away we went, broom and all to see if we could run them down.
When they saw us coming, Dad flew off, Mom squawked a bit, then flew. We saw where they were and went running to the area to find the abandoned youngsters. Another Not, finding these youngsters in a grassland savanna is as about as lucky as finding a needle in a haystack. Maybe next time.
After our early morning adventure, we decided to go home and mow the grass. A good decision considering it was cloudy and cooler this afternoon than it has been.
We tinkered around home Saturday morning, then decided to go back to Camp Crane this afternoon.
There must be hundreds of butterflies, bees, moths, etc. that are still abuzz about the Ironweed. It is awesome to take a walk among the pollinators. I think the pollinators on the Dees Trail have put us in a trance.
We spent the afternoon enjoying the birds at the feeder and a young Eastern Fence Lizard that hangs around on our mat that we have named Patio.
We weren't the only bird watchers at Camp Crane this afternoon. A gorgeous Red-shouldered hawk was also checking them out.
