The week started off great when the call of the elusive cranes in the backyard of HQ woke me up Sunday morning! By the time we were out and about, there were no cranes is sight.
We took a ride to Ocean Springs to see if we could find Coconut. Before we could get to the area where she and her mate had been sighted, 2 cranes flew from the area that we were unable to identify. We saw several cranes while we were out and about, all of them were in pairs. Love is in the air!!
On our way back, we saw someone at the North Gautier gate. We turned around and found a man releasing an armadillo that he had trapped. Dang people!
The artificial nest platforms were delivered today. The hopes are that the cranes will use them in areas that are prone to flooding. We will see how this turns out.
This afternoon we had a 13 crane flyover at Camp Crane, coming in for their afternoon snack at HQ. It was the HQ 10, NR22, and 2 unbanded. Three wild hatched have joined the gang!
There was a squabble between Kirby and NR22. We thought Kirby was going to win, then he backed off. NV11 has taught NR22 well.
Monday morning was beautiful. I cooked breakfast outside on this cool, crisp morning.
We picked up a bunch of plant signs along the Dees Trail (plants that were no longer in bloom) then started working on eradicating the mean ole' Cogon that is in the native plant garden. Sad, that an invasive has made it's way into our native plant garden.
We spent the afternoon doing some spring cleaning for Rap. By the time we finished with the spring cleaning, the wind started blowing and it was cold. Oh well, we had a hint of spring before ole' Man winter returned.
We made a Wally World run on Tuesday morning then helped Theresa and Jake raise the water level in the DGF tanks. We saw a few of the tadpoles while filling them. They sure do look small in this big vat of water.
Nine of the gang got a late afternoon snack at HQ.
Wednesday we had a tour for 3 people. The pressure was off to find cranes when 11 Sandhill Cranes were foraging, flying, and calling at HQ when the tour people arrived.
The excitement continued as we rode around seeing cranes and several other species of birds.
The Eaglets were active in the nest, fighting with each other. We saw one adult Eagle flying in the area, but it never came to the nest.
We had so much fun that we lost track of time. When we got back from our almost 3 hour tour, Judy and Terry were concerned that we had gotten the van stuck.
As we were walking to the camper at lunch time, two photogenic cranes flew over the flag.
We also had an Osprey flyover with his lunch in his talons.
The afternoon was spent replacing some of the refuge marker signs.
When we returned the cranes were still hanging around. Crane Lane is living up to it's name.
Thursday we had a crane tour for Vancleave High School Life Skills class. The 2022 releases were at the feeder to entertain them before we left. We saw plenty of cool critters and had another enjoyable tour.
The Eaglets have gotten really big and were jumping around in the the nest.
We walked the Dees Trail when we got back and placed a couple of plant markers for the Chokeberry and Round-leaved bluets. We also found Primrose-leaved Violets. We get so excited when we find a bloom during the winter time, being they are few and far between.
The cranes stayed around all day today. When they finally took a short break from the feeder, Lauren checked it and saw it needed more feed. The cranes watched him from the savanna when he checked it and came right back to it before he could fill it. Finally around 4ish they flew toward their roost and he was able to fill it for them. These cranes are spoiled rotten.
Friday was a cold, windy day. We stayed inside for most of the day. We did get out for a bit and took care of the recycling and cut pipe for the new artificial nest structures.
We saw three of the cranes hunkered down in the savanna. They must be avoiding the wind.
Three of the six people that signed up for the Crane Tour were no shows Saturday morning. We had a couple that happened to be at the visitor center when we opened that joined us. Let's just say, the no shows missed out.
Before we left, one of the ladies said she had been here several times and never has seen a crane. She was so excited during the tour to see the Sandhill Cranes.
Another lady on the tour has been on our tours several times and plans to come back for another one in March. We must be doing something right.
After the tour, we made a Sams run then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.
