It was another Sunday Funday. We were greeted by Nana and Coco hanging out in the HQ savanna this morning.
We picked up trash in the Ocean Springs Unit. We also checked on a potential Many-flowered Grass Pink site. It will definitely be worth checking out in a couple of weeks.
We saw a couple of American Kestrels and a few other birds, but no Sandhill Cranes. It was a good thing we saw a couple of Cranes at HQ so we were not skunked.
While sitting by our early afternoon campfire, we heard the Crane commotion going on and found that there was Crane Porn in the savanna. An unbanded pair were getting it on while the HQ5 all gathered round, cheering them on. When we first started volunteering at the refuge, we never thought we would see Cranes in this savanna and definitely not, Crane Porn. My oh my, what a difference a few years make.
Monday was a work day, only the Cranes were not aware. We watched 8 Sandhill Cranes while we were sitting inside the Visitors Center. The HQ5 were bullying Coco, Nana, and an Unbanded. They were all over the place. Needless to say, the Billy Goat stayed in the shed until the Cranes were flushed by visitors.
Nana and Coco stayed in the Savanna while we got our work done. They were even there after we walked the Dees Trail, and Crip was feasting on that yellow gold.
The Brown-headed Cowbird has returned to Camp Crane. He and the squirrel were enjoying the view.
Late afternoon, the only Crane that we could find was Crip. It appears, that he is rehabbing quite well.
Ferny Kat had her outdoor time and her cool drinks of water from the water hose. We never dreamed a cat would love to play in the water, but again, she is not your ordinary cat.
Tuesday, we got the counter stats for the last 2 weeks and a few other chores done around the VC. The Honeysuckle Azaleas are beginning to bloom at the Fontainebleau Trail.
We took a quick ride to check out the recent prescribed burn at the North Gautier Unit and found the Audubon Cohorts, the White Oak Cohorts, and a few more Cranes, feasting on the roasted grub.
We met Judy and Terry for an early dinner at Woodys. It has been way too long since we saw each other.
We helped the Interns with the Dusky Gopher Frog drift fence tonight. It was a first time experience for all of us. On our 1 mile walk to the pond, we found an Eastern Mud Turtle.
We were serenaded by numerus different species of frogs as we were setting up the drift fence. Some of them, were the mighty snoring sound of the DGFS. We were so excited to hear one of the most endangered amphibians in North America!!
While waiting to run the fence, Madison and Hefan took photos of us with the moon in the background. They were all laid out in the savanna, trying to get the perfect shot.
On our first run of the fence, the Interns found 2 DGFs and we found 2 Banded Water Snakes. The shrills the Interns made when they found the DGFs was so invigorating. (There may have also been a shrill when I saw the snakes, just saying). The DGFs were weighed, measured, tagged, and then released. The snakes were relocated away from the fence by Hefan. It is nice to have a Herp Handler in the bunch.
While waiting on the 2 hour interval to run the fence, the Interns decided to get their activity minutes in. It was quite entertaining to watch them do jumping jacks in the savanna.
We got back to HQ around midnight. The Interns continued to run the drift fence until 2 a.m. trapping one more DGF. We were dragging when we got back to HQ, but got it in high gear when we set off the alarm. Oops!
It was a slow start to Wednesday. We finally got out and about around noon. We helped the Interns place plankton in the DGF Tanks. We attended the DGF debrief with Scott and the Interns. Scott said that last night is one of the yearly highlights for the refuge. How cool is that?
We took Robin, the refuge administrative assistant, for a tour of the South Gautier Unit. We spent a lot of time admiring the Eagles. The Eaglets were chilled out in the nest with one of the parents nearby.
We saw a few Sandhill Cranes while we were looking around. We also saw a Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrels, Eastern Meadowlarks, Little Blue Herons, and GREG..
We spent the afternoon bending pipe for the Bow Net Scott has purchased for catching Cranes. We did pretty good for a couple of amateur rednecks that had never bent pipe before. We are all skeptical if this contraption will be fast enough to catch a crane. We will have to wait for the busted remote to be replaced before it can be tried out.
It was a Happy Birthday Friday. We eased into the day waiting for the rain to end. The rain was out of here and a pretty day by noon. We heard the calling of Cranes flying in, while a pair of Unbanded Cranes were at the HQ feeder. It was Nana, Coco, and 2002. They circled above the VC then flew toward the savanna. I think they were singing Happy Birthday to Me!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
We took a ride to Fontainebleau Trail to place brochures in the kiosk. We took the shortcut back and watched the Crane Circus. These guys never disappoint.
We saw a few other cool critters on our drive through as well.
While sitting outside at Camp Crane, we heard the Crane Commotion going on and found the backyard of HQ full of Cranes, the HQ5, 3 Unbanded, (including Crip), Coco, Nana, and 2002. A 10 Crane sighting in the neighborhood is pretty cool!
Saturday was a chill out kind of day. We got out and about mid morning. We got a Dees Trail and a Crane Lane walk in soaking in the nature.
We sat around Camp Crane for most of the day, doing a little bit of bird watching, lizard watching, and Ferny Kat watching.
The HQ 5 were minus Tsunami today. They foraged at the feeder then flew toward their roost pond.
Ole Crip, was the only one at the feeder later this evening. He is beginning to be quite a regular here.
